An Art Nouveau-style home on Lake Garda is given a new lease of life

“In the early 20th century it was the home of a wealthy doctor, but in the 1990s-2000s it was sold and converted into a bed & breakfast,” is how architects Alberto Bassi and Chiara Tenca from PadiglioneB described Casa Liberty Garda. After a long and troubled history, the villa has now been given a new lease of life thanks to a skilful restoration and renovation project. “The interior of the building had been left in an unfinished state after the work on the B&B had remained incomplete. We were keen to return to the original architecture, eliminating the subsequent modifications and restoring the external decorations in both the attic and the loggia.

The villa extends over three approximately 70-square-metre floors, including a basement with a cellar, laundry room and technical room, as well as an outdoor area partially paved in Grolla marble from Vicenza and with a garden featuring an ancient olive tree. The renovation project combines past and present in a harmonious dialogue, balancing conservative restoration with new additions. “On the outside, we faithfully reproduced the original design of the loggia as a bold statement requested specifically by the client. We replastered the exterior with a pure natural yellow lime. Using sorghum brushes, we cleaned all the stone elements including the external staircase, the marble of the three-mullioned windows and the portals, restoring them to their original pristine white colour. The rose-coloured Nembro marble staircase was cleaned using a pressure washer, then brushed and grouted. We brought the façade back to life, repointed the bricks and redesigned the joints while maintaining and even improving the period decorations. The villa was in a state of neglect and partly covered by vegetation. For many Garda residents, seeing it restored to its former glory is a sign of respect, as it was an important part of the collective memory and can finally be admired by the younger generations.”

The villa features numerous elements celebrating the Art Nouveau style. “Like the bathrooms, a tribute to the past which feature an interplay of joints and geometries enhanced by the brightly coloured glazed tiles from Ceramica Vogue, a ceramic tile format that allows the bathroom concept to be redesigned with a large mosaic. In detail, we used 5×5 cm mosaics from the System series, 20×10 cm Trasparenti (glossy) tiles, 10×40 cm tiles and System Triangoli, while for the first floor bathroom we used one of our favourite products, the Dekorami glazed porcelain series with surface microstructures designed by the firm Marcante-Testa for Ceramica Vogue. We love ceramic tiles because they are part of our culture; we enjoy experimenting and using products that convey an identity or tell a story; and we appreciate the interaction and interplay between the joints and the material.” The renovation project was extremely environmentally-friendly, particularly in the choice of materials. “Such as natural mortar for thermal insulation. As it is a historic home, we couldn’t apply external insulation or use solar panels or photovoltaic systems. Nonetheless, we were able to achieve energy class C thanks to a number of well-designed measures, such as insulating the attic with wood fibre, replacing the windows and doors, and installing a latest-generation condensing natural gas central heating system, underfloor heating, and air conditioning with high-efficiency heat pumps.