Umberto121 is rural accommodation located in a typical Tuscan building in the small historic center of Montisi (Montalcino). This village is part of one of the five municipalities included in the Val d'Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The owners, of Spanish and Italian origin, decided to acquire the house during the summer of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, with the intention of renovating it from a distance, as they were living in Barcelona at the time. A few months later, they decided to leave Barcelona and settle with their two daughters (3 and 5 years old) in this small village of 300 inhabitants.
The house has been renovated, with the passion and under the guidelines of the owners, maintaining its authenticity, preserving the original architecture and the characteristics of the different periods it has lived through: frescoes from 1800, terrazzo from 1930, etc. "We have gone in search of the essence of the house, stripping it of unnecessary elements added in recent decades, we have only given it what it asked for", explain the owners.
The original building dates back to the 14th century, but the passage of time has given the house architectural and aesthetic characteristics of each period. In 1800, the adjoining building and Umberto121 were part of a single building dedicated to the production of pharmaceutical formulas, the latter being the residence of the owners. The building has had different owners; when the current owners acquired it, it belonged to a family of bankers.
The house has five double bedrooms, a large living room, study area and fireplace, kitchen, dining room and garden. With a total surface area of 350 square meters, and 400 square meters of garden area, the house is based on several medieval buildings in the historic center of Montisi.
Both the rooms and the common areas have been renovated with attention to detail. The entire house has retained its original features: original doors and floors, exposed beams and beautiful 19th century frescoes. "When we bought the house, the walls of two of the rooms were covered with frescoes, but we knew there had to be more," they explain. Thus, new walls decorated with frescoes began to be discovered, evidencing and leaving evidence of the traces of the past.
Another of the original elements they found, in this case from the 1930s, were the graniglia (terrazzo) floors, which have simply been polished and in some cases the layers of stoneware that covered them have been removed.
On the first floor are the main communal areas: the living room, study and library, dining room, kitchen, and garden. The latter can be accessed from the kitchen and dining room. The first floor also has a newly created double bedroom and private bathroom. In this room, floors and walls with frescoes have been recovered.
The first floor has four double bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms. On this floor, the terrazzo floors could not be recovered, so the first two rooms were laid with oak parquet. The two frescoed rooms are separated by a large passageway with two armchairs and a reading area.
Each room in the house tells a little story and has its own identity. The owners have sought to enhance the authenticity of each room and, for example, have searched local markets for original lamps from different periods, as well as pieces of furniture bought from various Italian and Spanish antique dealers. Among the furniture of current production, there are several examples of the best Italian and Spanish design, such as Santa & Cole lamps.
Materials Used:
Furniture
Living room
Babel lamp by Santa & Cole
TMC lamp by Santa & Cole
Tria bookcase by Mobles 114
Vito sofa by Design Republic
Italian table, Italy 1930s
Two-seater sofa, Italy 1960s
White TV cabinet metittutto, Italy 1960s
Ball lamp, Spain 1970s-80s
Fireplace area
Antique ball lamp
Armchairs, Italy 1960s
Santa & Cole Silvestrina wall lamps
Study area
Italian table
Italian-made Cesca chairs
Tolomeo lamp by Artemide
Original graphic work by Alberto Burri from Il Tarlo in Bottega (Siena)
Dining room
Marble table, Italy 19th century
Pastaia furniture, Italy 1950s
Kitchen furniture, Italy 1960s
Antique chairs
Antique mirror
TMD lamp by Santa & Cole
Exactitude graphic artwork by Pierre Fix-Masseau, 1981 from Galleria L’Image (Alassio)
Antique alabaster lamp from Antigüedades Miqueleiz (Pamplona)
Balls lamp, Spain 1970s-80s
Kitchen
Smeg fridge and cooker
Targetti clamp lamp 70's
Tailor's table 19th century
Italian madia furniture, original to the house
Terazzo Graniglie Grandinetti
Photographs by Yone Estivariz
Polish industrial lamp
Bedroom 1
Wooden and marble chest of drawers, original from the house
Tolomeo wall lamps by Artemide
Italian coffee tables D-Segno
Connect bed by HAY
Bed linen Zara Home
Balls lamp, Spain 70s-80s
Bathroom room 1
Treemme faucets
SDR Ceramiche washbasin
Antique mirror, wall lamp and pendant lamp
Zehnder electric radiator
WC and bidet SDR Ceramiche
Bedroom 2
Connect bed by Hay
Bed linen by Zara Home
Componibili bedside tables by Kartell
Eclisse bedside table lamps by Artemide
Balls lamp, Spain 70s-80s
Original wardrobe and chest from the house
Italian-made Cesca chair
Parquet Listone Giordano
Bathroom bedroom 2
Original bathroom fittings of the house
Pico flooring by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec for Mutina
Componibili vanity unit by Kartell
Original washbasin and bidet fittings
Treemme shower fittings
Antique lamp and mirror
Bedroom 3
Singular wall lamps by Santa & Cole
Bedside table, benches from lido italiano
Connect bed by Hay
Bed linen by Zara Home
Wooden bathroom entrance furniture from an old Florentine convent
Balls lamp, Spain 70s-80s
Bathroom room 3
Treemme faucets
SDR Ceramiche washbasin
Antique mirror and wall lights
Zehnder electric radiator
WC and bidet SDR Ceramiche
Middle room
Cesta lamp by Santa & Cole
LC3 armchairs by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand for Cassina. From La Cabina Muebles (Pamplona)
Italian reproduction 1980s coffee table E-1027 by Eileen Gray from Il Tarlo in Bottega (Siena)
18th century Italian drawer
Parquet Listone Giordano
Room 4
Connect Bed by Hay
Bed linen by Zara Home
Wood and marble chest of drawers original to the house
TMM wall lights by Santa & Cole
Victoria & Albert bathtub
Treemme taps
Bathroom room 4
SDR Ceramiche washbasin
WC SDR Ceramiche
Bedroom 5
Tolomeo wall lamps by Artemide
Italian bedside tables D-Segno
Connect bed by HAY
Bed linen Zara Home
Metittutto wardrobe, Italian 60's
Black and white photographs by Yone Estivariz
Listone Giordano parquet
Bathroom room 5
Antique mirror
Original wall lights from the house
Treemme taps
Terazzo Grandinetti
