Friscanzana house is a country mansion harmoniously placed in the network of  stone walls and typical paths in the countryside surrounding the Sicilian town of Ragusa.

The house consists of a main building, extending lengthwise with a string of broad rooms divided by transversal bearing walls, and two juxtaposed annexes.

The project is based on a deep and (auto)ironical analysis of the Sicilian character, meant both as a body of endemic behaviors and as an interpretation of clichés about the “Sicilian man” found in the media and particularly in movies.

Fimmina, Masculu, Duminica, Curtigghio, Lagnusia, Calura e Friscanzana, Tivitti (Woman, Man, Sunday, Courtyard/gossip, Laziness, heat & coolness, I saw you!) produce a project that portrays several moods, in a kaleidoscope of colours, materials and feelings.

With this in mind, the tile found in the existing building has been redesigned and adjusted to the colour palettes of each area, and the building materials—stone, wood, and canes—have been recovered and enhanced.

The interior of the building, with the transformation of the existing mezzanines, alternates private, intimate spaces with high and bright public areas, in a harmonious conflict similar to the constantly hinted at Sicilian conditions.

The exteriors engage in a dialogue with the surrounding environment and the local building tradition: the local stone-set paving and the original texture of stone walls have been recovered, as well as the original stone wall of the building.

The new pergola in the back, a protection from the summer heat, and the sand-colour pool restore the connection of this building with the Sicilian countryside tradition.
The clear plaster of the annexes and the recovered mid-blue of the windows extend the scope to the Mediterranean tradition.

“Dumínica jurnata di sciroccu fora nan si po stari
ppì fari 'n pocu ‘i friscu mettu a finestra
a vanidduzza e mi vaiu a ripusari”