Stone in stone

In the absence of watercourses and large masses of vegetation, the widespread presence of stone characterises the Salento plateau, carved in places by deep ravines where erosion has exposed tuffaceous walls and designed by limestone walls, built dry to delimit fields.

Local stones then return to punctuate the landscape, emerging in the form of large boulders or rocky banks and giving shape to traditional architecture with conical or flat roofs. It is in this context that a rural tower stands, recently restored and refurbished for residential use according to a refined design by Manuel Aires Mateus.

The Salento stone materials, with their golden colour and porous texture, have shaped the entire construction from the very beginning, from the rugged perimeter walls, to the star or barrel vaults, up to the practicable summit terrace; even the renovation is strongly characterised by an additional stone in chromatic assonance, the Travertino Classico, supplied and processed by Pibamarmi with Acid Shield treatment.

Once again Manuel Aires Mateus signs an essential interior architecture, based on the intrinsic values of matter and light, weaving a wise dialogue between the integrations of local limestones for the restoration of the floors and vaults, the Travertine of the large open kitchen and bathrooms, the earthy clay-colored plasters and the few natural wood furnishings with elementary shapes and relevant dimensions.

- text by Davide Turrini