Casanguilla

Casanguilla sits in the countryside of Puglia, the heel of Italy, near the town of San Vito dei Normanni and not far from the white hilltop town of Ostuni. It's classic Puglian land: old olive groves, dry-stone walls, red earth and big skies. The Adriatic and the beaches of the Torre Guaceto nature reserve are a short drive, the trulli towns of the Itria Valley are close, and the food and wine around here are some of the best in the south.

The house was designed and built by two architecture studios, Quarzo Studio and CA-SA Studio, who work between San Vito dei Normanni and Brescia. They built it the local way, in tufo stone painted white with the old lime-wash technique, but kept the lines simple and modern. The main house has a living room, dining area, a separate kitchen and a bedroom, and there are two more bedrooms with their own entrances: one in a modern annex, one in an old lamia, a low stone building with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, and the house sleeps six. Outside there's a pool, a pergola for long lunches and an outdoor shower among the olive trees. It runs entirely on solar power.