THE CONES OF CANTAGALLO

I CONI DI CANTAGALLO is a holiday home resulting from the renovation and expansion of a trullo, a traditional and iconic stone structure built on a rock outcropping on the edge of the Itria Valley, in Puglia, southern Italy.
The original structure is presented as a trullo with two rooms, from which the two roof cones characterizing the complex derive, and in the main room a further smaller perimeter room is set as an alcove.
The project preserves the identifying character of the pre-existing trullo with its approximately circular plan, on whose perimeter the very thick dry stone wall is set.
The great thickness of the walls, combined with the very small number and size of the openings, such as the entrance door and the very small square window on the side, ensures the house has a very high thermal inertia, therefore good heat conservation inside during the winter and the coldest days, as well as an attenuation of the peaks in external temperature in summer.
Inside the building, the beauty of this vernacular architecture is revealed, divided into two different rooms, connected by a small door. The spaces are designed to feel in symbiosis with the natural context, to relax immersed in the nature of the rural Apulian environment, in the shade of a centuries-old olive tree.
The extension is composed of an independent structure, in a coherent and constant dialogue with the pre-existing trullo. The project paid particular attention to the use of materials and construction techniques typical of the place. The final layout provides for the functions of a residence split based on the level of privacy in the two architectural structures: the extension, with its large entrance, denotes its collective and receptive destination, containing within it a large kitchen, the living room, the main bathroom and access to the veranda; the trullo, with its circular and closed shape, cannot but admit within it the functions linked more to the intimacy of those who live in the residence, therefore it contains within it the master bedroom with the private bathroom.
The outdoor spaces have been designed with particular attention, integrating them into the terraced terrain supported by typical dry stone walls. The swimming pool and the sand-colored bare concrete flooring are inserted into the terrace behind the trullo that overlooks the surrounding landscape, with a gazebo integrated into the rocks designed for outdoor dining. Inside, natural stone is combined with the typical lime plaster and bare concrete flooring.