Contemporary classic

Perched on a limestone hill in the Tiber valley in the central Italian region of Umbria, Amelia is a historic town overflowing with vestiges of its past, including Renaissance buildings and churches and numerous ruins dating back to Roman times. The charming atmosphere of the old town centre is complemented by the view of the surrounding countryside dotted with old stone farmhouses, one of which was recently at the centre of a renovation and expansion project. The owners wanted to maintain the traditional characteristics of Umbrian rural constructions, so this was the philosophy that guided the design and material choices. The result is a splendid two-floor farmhouse complete with an annex and a swimming pool located on the downslope side of the main building.
The new property consists of a two-floor square central volume connected on either side to two single-level structures, one with a double-pitched roof housing the living area and the other with a single-pitched roof for the guest sleeping quarters, as well as a veranda and pergola on the sides facing the valley. An Umbrian natural stone laid using the opus incertum technique was chosen for the facing of the exterior wall, along with terracotta tile thresholds and an entrance door framed by a basalt portal. The annex is a single-level square-shaped structure with a double-pitched roof and a wooden porch on the side facing the valley, in this case plastered and painted in earth tones.
«For the choice of interior finishes, we looked for a solution that would allow us to adopt modern materials while maintaining traditional warmth and appeal,» says architect and project manager Sergio Melchiorri. «We found sand-coloured porcelain tiles from Ceramica Fioranese’s Montpellier collection to be the best choice for the interior flooring inside the farmhouse, their irregular colour enhanced by the combination of three different sizes in striking contrast to the geometric regularity of the rooms.» Given the material’s good anti-slip properties (compliant with Italian Ministerial Decree no. 236 regarding the elimination of architectural barriers), it is also suitable for use in outdoor areas, blurring the distinction between the interior and exterior in terms of materials and colour and enhancing the sensation of being immersed in nature. Several other Fioranese collections were also used in the project. In the guest bathroom, Formelle_20 collection tiles in four colours and a variety of decorations were chosen to ensure a seamless transition between the shower floor and wall. In the upstairs bathroom, the planed wooden floor planks were combined with the sand-coloured Blend series, while the corner washbasin and shower are decorated with the Cementine_Retrò cement tiles chosen in a variety of colours and geometries. This modern take on traditional terrazzo tiles perfectly sums up the spirit of the project.
In the annex, the use of the Heritage collection in the colour grey and four sizes has produced the same result as in the farmhouse itself, combining a traditional sensation of warmth with a more contemporary look in terms of heterogeneous colour and geometry. The same series in smaller sizes was used for the walls in the kitchenette and shower.