Architect Mario Connio's azure Andalucian farmhouse
In the hills not far from Ronda stands a house that has been a labour of love for over 40 years. The Argentinian architect Mario Connio discovered it while staying in Marbella with a friend whose father owned a house nearby in southern Andalucia. Succumbing to love at first sight, he purchased the abandoned farm from an order of nuns and he has been developing and perfecting it ever since. Mario has worked as an architect in Europe since the Seventies. His main home is in Madrid and he has another in Buenos Aires, but he now spends six or seven months a year in the farmhouse.
The 30-acre site immediately inspired a vision of possibilities for Mario. There were Italian and Spanish walnut trees, as well as pecan, mulberry, olive and almond. Thirty years ago, he began adding to this mix, which now includes pistachio trees and Holm oak, the acorns of which are fed to native black Iberian pigs, known for their ham. Today, about 200 litres of Arriate olive oil are pressed on the property each year and up to 2,000 kilograms of almonds are harvested.
MAY WE SUGGEST: Susan Wyndham's house in Spain is a rare mix of exuberance and elegance
The traditional Andalucian farmhouse originally had one floor, and Mario has added a pyramid-shape glass roof over a formerly open central patio. This has become a covered internal courtyard that allows light into the heart of the house, with a terracotta-tiled floor dotted with potted ferns. From here, the kitchen and dining rooms lead off to one side and two bedrooms to the other. Straight ahead, a long sitting room extends across the back of the house.
This latter space has lots of windows and beautiful views down the valley. The interior decoration here and throughout the house is relaxed and reflects much of what Mario has seen and liked on his travels. He has a particular interest in textiles, as evidenced by the happy contrasts of stripes and indigo, as well as Indian, African and Argentinian designs. Similarly, the furniture and lighting have been collected over time from all over the world, while the many paintings are by friends or are family portraits.Such elements stand out against the white walls and sky-blue ceilings. Elsewhere, in the dining room and kitchen, walls and ancient ceiling beams have been painted a fresh shade of green, as if to reference the verdant gardens.
From the sitting room, french windows lead out onto a loggia, which, like the rest of the exterior of the house, is painted an intense azure blue. Sitting there in the shade, one can see the house reflected in a shallow pool that surrounds it on three sides. Its waters have flowed for 40 years, inspired by the great eighth-century Arab gardeners of the Alhambra's Generalife gardens, to whom fountains and flowing water were so essential.
Further living quarters have been eked out of three farm buildings that were in a ruinous state. Mario's caretaker Belen and her mechanic husband Carlos occupy one, while another (where there was an old bread oven) is now comfortable guest accommodation. Mario has turned the final outbuilding into his own quarters, with his bedroom, office and private sitting room, shared with his four adorable dogs.
Mindful of the extremes of Andalucian winters and summers, Mario wanted to be able to control the heat, light and shade. There are open fires in every room, while the outsides of the windows are fitted with locally made wooden blinds. These are kept loweredall day in summer to keep the house cool and produce a wonderful effect of sunlight filtering into the darkened rooms. Every bedroom has its own terrace, featuring a pergola, which is shaded in summer by a covering of wisteria, honeysuckle, bignonia and jasmine. In winter, all but the honeysuckle lose their leaves, allowing light into the rooms once more.
MAY WE SUGGEST: The homes of writer Umberto Pasti in Milan and Tangier bear witness to a life artfully lived
Outside, garden paths are made from individually set cobbles that were gathered from the surrounding country or local rivers. It completes the feeling of a long-established property. Rather than steps, terraces are connected by ramps, which Mario regards as more fluid - a view enthusiastically endorsed by his gardener, especially when working with his wheelbarrow. Beyond the luxuriant wisteria stretch the plants that are so characteristic of the region. What a wonderful place to escape to.
Mario Connio: 00-34-696 516 808
1/11The sitting room extends across the back of the main farmhouse. Here, Mario has filled the room with artwork and pieces collected on his travels around the world, including kilims bought in Aleppo, a lemonwood armchair from Menorca and black lacquered-bamboo lamps. In the middle of the ceiling, Mario has painted a view of the world as seen from the Antarctic.
2/11The sitting room extends across the back of the main farmhouse. Here, Mario has filled the room with artwork and pieces collected on his travels around the world, including kilims bought in Aleppo, a lemonwood armchair from Menorca and black lacquered-bamboo lamps. In the middle of the ceiling, Mario has painted a view of the world as seen from the Antarctic.
3/11This eclectic sitting area clashes colours, prints and textures. The effect is fresh and inviting.
4/11This breakfast area has a distinctly Mediterranean feel; the French windows lead out onto the terrace.
5/11Green Farmhouse Kitchen in kitchen design ideas. Country kitchen with painted beams and traditional terracotta floor. Rustic Andalucian kitchen with wood fire.
6/11The guest bedroom once housed a bread oven.
7/11Family portraits and pictures by Mario's friends hang in the dining room.
8/11Mario has created a play on stripes in his bedroom, with shades of olive green and red, and an indigo-dyed bed cover. Every bedroom has its own open fire, with wooden blinds fitted outside the windows to shade them in summer.
9/11The sitting room leads out to an azure-blue-painted loggia. It is surrounded on three sides by a shallow pool, with plants in terracotta pots arranged along the edges.
10/11The walls that surround this outdoor seating area have been painted a beautiful azure blue.
11/11A wisteria-draped pergola covers a seating area in the garden.
