In the heart of Piedmont, a stone’s throw away from the tiny town of La Morra and the green of the vast vineyards on the surrounding hillsides, stands Agrisuite Il Cedro, a new kind of agritourism that offers suites of rooms.
The structure stands on the old Monfalletto Estate, property of the Cordero di Montezemolo family, who have owned the adjacent winery of the same name for 19 generations. It has four splendid independent apartments, an outdoor pool and an absolutely breathtaking view. The countryside that surrounds it displays a panoply of different colours and sights, the ideal setting for the ancient cedar of Lebanon that stands imposingly between the rows of hills that have been declared a World Heritage Site. The modern style of the interiors provides an intriguing contrast to the rustic exterior architecture, which remains appropriate to the location and its traditional agricultural origins. The structure consists of a main cuboid building, the guest house, and a secondary two-storey construction with numerous picture windows and segmental arches, typical of Italian country farmhouses.
The project was designed by the architect Lara Spano of the Italian design company Ideawork 1981, who opted for a neutral colour palette that blends in with the environment. Solutions from L&L Luce&Light were installed in the outdoor areas. The minimalist and unobtrusive design of these fixtures allows their setting free expression. UPDOWN 4.0 wall lights with 22° double beams were used on the main facade, while GEKO 5.1 wall lights with single-beam 10° optics light the brick pillars from the attic to the ground. Both the private and communal areas close to the courtyard, and the neighbouring areas, were landscaped by Pierpaolo Tagliola, agronomist and landscape architect. In the upper part, an area that previously had little character was transformed into a large reception courtyard. Here, each room can enjoy its own private garden, while everyone can meet in the communal areas of the small square, the large, rejuvenated portico or under the shade of the mulberry tree that greets visitors in the centre of the courtyard. Great prominence is given to the swimming pool, seems at one with the beautiful hilly landscape that surrounds it.
The greenery is deliberately interwoven with aged objects that evoke the country setting: old doors and windows have been recovered and playfully inserted in the hornbeam hedges. The elegant yet rustic nature of the chosen flora links the two areas to each other and to the beautiful natural landscape in which the garden is set, extending a warm welcome to visitors from the moment they arrive. Various L&L Luce&Light lighting fixtures are arranged in the greenery. ICE LED fixtures, sandblasted glass cubes of diffuse light, follow the perspective line of the driveway entrance that runs alongside the roses and perennial blooms, and can also be found among the grasses in the cor-ten tubs in the guest house courtyard.
The same tubs also contain GINKO projectors. Disappearing into the background with their jasper green finish, these light the mulberry tree that dominates the space. Around the perimeter of the swimming pool platforms, RONDÒ fixtures, recessed single-beam step lights with a grazing light, body and central screw painted cor-ten, were installed. An interesting detail: at the edge of the pool, there are two original Parisian streetlights, repurposed as free-standing lamps, that act as decorative details and add to the magical aura, if that were even possible.
Progect by Arch. Lara Spano, Ideawork 1981
Landscape by Arch. Pierpaolo Tagliola
Light planning by iLuminanti
Photo by Federico Moschietto
