25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

25bh | mediterranean villa

for stockistsgo to where to buy

M

icheleDella

Vignastill

remembers

thefirsttime

hevisitedthenorthwest

ofSicily.‘I firstcamehere

onholidayasa child– I

rememberit wasa 24-hour

carjourneyfromourhomein

Como,’hesays.‘Everything

seemedsoexotictome.It

trulywasa landofdreams.’

Thusbegana loveaffair

withtheareathatculminated

inMichelepurchasinga

modernistmasterpieceon

thecoastjusta coupleof

kilometresfromScopello.

Hiddenawayona little

promontoryoverlooking

thefaraglioni(seastacks),it

commandsjaw-dropping

viewsofthesea.‘Ittooknearly

twoyearstofindthishouse,’

saysMichele,wholivesand

worksinLondon.‘Mostofthe

reallybeautifulpropertieson

theislandaresituatedinland

andit is muchrarertofinda

fantastichomeonthecoast.’

Thevillawasbuiltinthe

SixtiesbyrenownedRoman

architectAndreaNonisand

itscrisp,clean-linedaesthetic

stillfeelsvalidtoday.The

open-planlayoutfeatures

a seriesoflivingspaceson

staggeredlevelsbuiltto

accommodatetherocky

outcrop.‘Itwasdilapidated

butmagnificent,’Michele

recalls.‘Thegardenwasan

impenetrablejungle,but

thankfully,youcouldview

theseafromeverywindow.’

Whenit cametofinding

a teamtohelphimwiththe

restorationofthebuilding,

Michelecontactedarchitect

FabrizioRuffino andinterior

designers Adriana Di

MarianoandDonataBattiati.

‘Thefirsttimemypartner

GabrieleandI metwiththem,

weallimmediatelyconnected,’

saysMichele.‘Theywanted

tobringthehousebacktoits

modernistrootsandtoonly

usethecolourpalettearound

us– theblueandthegreen

oftheseaandthemellow

honeybrownofthefaraglioni.’

Therestrainedpalette

includespalegreyresinforthe

flooring,touchesoftimber

andstoneforwarmthand

white-paintedwalls,resulting

ingallery-likespacesthat

aretheperfectfoilforthe

dramaticviews– andthe

strikingselectionofart by

homegrowntalent.

Manyoftheideasand

updateswereexchangedvia

email,butduringtheheight

oftheworks,Michele

travelledtoSicilyoncea

fortnighttooverseeprogress.

‘Everythingwentvery

smoothly,sothesevisitswere

actuallya lotoffun,’headds.

Whilemostofthe

materialsandartweresourced

locally,Michelechosemuch

ofthefurnitureduringa trip

toMilan’scontemporary

furniturefair,theSalonedel

Mobile.‘Itwasinspirational

tolookatsomanyincredible

designs,’hesays.Fabulous

outdoorpieceswerealso

selectedsothattheexpansive

terracesthatwraparound

thehouseserveascomfortable

livingspacesthroughout the

summermonths.

‘Itfeelslikea littlepiece

ofheaveninthemiddleof

theMediterraneanSea,’

saysMichele.‘Itis sucha

wonderfulplacetocometo

with family and friends.’

KITCHEN

Timbercupboardfrontsaddwarmth

tothecoolertonesofthestainless

steelislandandresinfloor.

bespokeisland,Arclinea.bellobar

stools, £864 each, Molteni&C Dada

76 | 25bhjuLy 2019