Tuscan Rooms

Tuscany's historical residences tell stories that no mere guidebook can capture. The houses that dot the landscape-from the stately Medici villas to the more humble yet charming farmhouses-are not just structures but also symbols of a way of life, a lasting testament to the fusion of an agrarian lifestyle, picturesque towns, notable architecture, fine craft, and art. In the book's foreword, Cabana founder Mondadori writes, "Tuscany is not merely a region; it is a living canvas, a dreamscape that has cradled the imagination of artists, poets, and thinkers for centuries." The interiors presented in this book are a celebration of the talents of the diverse contemporary homeowners, who are keeping the region's creative spirit alive. Houses brim with the output of skilled craftsmen, exquisite tapestries, brocades and damasks, objects arranged as if painterly still lifes, fantastical murals, rare books, furniture from a range of periods, and fine porcelain. The houses, many published here for the first time, include a gentle hilltop in Chianti where late interior designer Manfredi della Gherardesca filled his family's castle with superb collections of decorative and fine arts; a rustic coastal retreat where the boundaries between indoor and outdoor are blurred; the Pucci family palace, where a kaleidoscopic twentieth-century fashion phenomenon was born in a Renaissance setting; and a country hideaway where local decorative arts are astutely paired with more worldly objects, a colorful patchwork of Argentinian and Moroccan carpets and African figurines. Tuscany is the birthplace of Renaissance art and thought, a creative explosion that still resonates today. The interiors in this book are a testament to the ongoing legacy of creative rebirth in a most glorious setting.