A gloriously comfortable country house on the Piedmont hill

This lovely couple hunted for a country house for many years. It sounds easy, if you can afford it, but it was not so easy when it came to making a final decision, to seeing who would prevail in the choice. Both are strong characters. She has the impulses of her wild princely family from Sicily. He is squarer in his Piedmont appearance, with the driest sense of humour you could meet. Anyhow, for the friends lucky enough to participate in the hunt, these were glorious years, providing lots of fun witnessing their “battles.” Till one day this beautiful house on a hill was for sale. It belonged to a childhood friend they had in common, and they all had been really happy there over the years. Before they could think about it, they bought the house, and simultaneously decided to live there permanently. Actually, she took the decision: “Darling, you could commute! How fun! And I’ll play with the garden!” The garden being one of the best ever designed by Russell Page, everyone was worried, but luckily she has become a talented gardener, and now fishing is no longer her only passion.

In the ’70s Renzo Mongiardino had worked with the previous owners to create a cosy shelter. It was all very elegant, in tune with the taste of the aristocrat who built the house in 1780, and of his descendants who added the Neo-Gothic aisle with the chapel in 1815. But from this Pre-Bohemian chic, what was now left were only wallpapers, cupboards, a few painted ceilings, and not much more. The couple, in the meantime, had become grandparents, and realised they could not care less about decorating their new place. They had furniture somewhere in storage, more family paintings than you’d wish, and even more silverware. Not to mention the lace curtains from the Palazzo in Palermo, and all the Imari pots so in vogue down there during the last century.

His only weakness was to spend a lot of time working with artisans on the beautiful rock-crystal chandeliers that are in almost every room. But priority was given to the kids (3 girls and 1 boy), and also to the four dogs (2 Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, 1 Kaninchen Dachshund and 1 Shiba Inu) that took possession of the whole place. The result is a very happy home. Every bed and every pillow is just as it should be. Every seat, sofa, armchair is utterly comfortable. Every lamp is where you need it. The flowers all come from the garden. The food served is as simple as it is delicious. To my delight, no one knows how to turn on the TV, and books are available on every floor. Such a Mellow atmosphere. And lots of Yellow.

This story was originally published in Cabana Magazine and is part of a collection of Italian houses from the archive selected by Cabana Editor-in-Chief Martina Mondadori. Click here to visit the Cabana website to buy the latest issue.