Italian Houses

The castle of Castagneto Carducci, an astounding piece of history, is situated atop a hill in the historical region of Maremma. It still dominates the village that has grown up around it. Over the past 20 years Manfredi della Gheradesca, a renowned London-based art consultant and interior designer, has breathed new life into the family castle. With ease and confidence, he has built a collection of furnishings that look as though they might have always been there.

This big flat in Northern Italy belongs to a lady who actually loves to stay behind the scenes. She has pushed all sorts of creative people and worked with them to emerge, but does not like the limelight herself. It is a home that with a sense of freedom, where she has mixed Bob Marley, Ferrari, Bert Stern, Sottsass, China, horn-covered cabinets, ivory, Fornasetti, Fidel Castro, round ’60s carpets, purple and mustard, Gio Ponti, orchids and Pampas grass, gold boots, white mink and racing suits in a 15th century palace, without it becoming chaos

There are definitely two factors that concur in making a space feel unique: the bones of a house and the alchemy of the decorative elements. This house definitely has both.