The timeless pleasure of nature

Set in the gently rolling hills of the province of Modena, the farm Opera 02 has recently begun offering rural holidays where guests can relax and enjoy the timeless pleasures of tradition (www.opera02.it).
Over the course of about a decade, the original five-acre nucleus located in the hills near Levizzano di Castelvetro was expanded to become an organic farm, rapidly branching out from the original wine-growing business to include the production of balsamic vinegar and most recently rural holidays. As a result of a rigorous and creative project focusing on restoration and the preservation of traditions, the farm now occupies a 45 hectare area extending over the entire hillside.
The architectural project is truly breathtaking, displaying an extraordinary ability to blend in with the forms and colours of the landscape in spite of its strongly contemporary character.
From the visually striking entrance steps through to the panoramic restaurant, the elegant and sober guest rooms and the relaxing outdoor swimming pool, everything displays carefully crafted simplicity, attention to detail, and an all-pervading desire to integrate with nature.
The eco-friendly spirit permeating the entire project is also reflected in the choice of materials, especially the exterior and interior floor tiles from Floor Gres. The collection used — Ecotech Ecolight, in the colour Ecogreen — is a porcelain tile developed through research into the recycling of waste materials from ceramic machining processes. The result is a creative and eco-friendly reinvention of the material that is perfectly in keeping with the services offered by Opera 02.
The swimming pool, situated on a natural terrace overlooking the vineyards, merits special attention. Here colour plays a vitally important role, the choice of colours of the materials — all based on shades of green — creating a splendid effect, a sensation of seamless continuity with the surrounding landscape. Specially for this project, Floor Gres developed a prototype for a non-slip porcelain grille surround. Designed to meet the need for continuity between the interior and exterior of the pool, it has already gained a firm place in the company’s catalogue of swimming pool products as it is more durable and hygienic than a conventional plastic grille.
Together with the vinegar factory, the ecotourism resort was created from the conversion of a 1950s barn and offers spacious and stylish theme-based rooms. The Floor Gres tiles used for the floor coverings in all the rooms provide flexible solutions for the various design aspects, emphasising the value of a range of products that deliver different performance characteristics but can be integrated perfectly with each other, displaying meticulous colour and size coordination designed to fully satisfy the needs of designers.