Villa Cinzia | Buratti Architetti

A large window onto the sea is the theme of this vacation home, a villa nestled within the landscape of the Gulf of Tigullio, at the foot of Mount Portofino.

Our studio handled the architectural design, the interior design, and the furniture design, working in our characteristic way - simultaneously across different scales of the project, weaving them together in a continuous back-and-forth process, zooming in and out.
"Nestled" in the sense that the building is wrapped in rock on three sides, while the fourth side is completely open to the sea and sunlight. All the spaces of the house, both the living area and the sleeping quarters, look out onto the sea through the filter of the patio and private pool.

Designed for a couple of art collectors, the house is gradually filling with significant works, such as the monumental bronze sculpture by Matteo Pugliese (standing 3 meters tall), which appears to plunge into the pool in a gesture reminiscent of children playing at the water’s edge.
The building has a horizontal development, organized over two floors. The ground floor is conceived as an open-plan space, with the entrance and living area at the center, the dining area and pergola-covered kitchen to the right, and the TV area with a dressing room to the left. The upper floor is divided into four suites, each with its own private bathroom.
The roof was designed as a green garden, featuring trees, a vegetable garden, an outdoor kitchen, and an area with hammocks.

The only vertical element in the space, contrasting with the overall horizontality of the design, is the staircase connecting the two floors. This staircase becomes the dominant architectural feature and the central pivot around which the various spaces revolve.
Conceived as a sculptural, monolithic piece extending through both levels, it is crafted from white Sky Jade marble with striking acid-yellow veining. The first flight of steps seamlessly integrates into the marble enclosure, while the second flight is made of supermirror steel, with an exposed stepped underside that reflects surrounding elements, creating a play of formal "inversion" and spatial expansion.

Another key aspect of the project is the choice to work with a monochromatic and white palette, which characterizes both the exterior - patio and pool included - and the interior space. White, the color of vacations and lightness, of boats and linen garments on warm summer evenings, is complemented by materials and hues strongly tied to the sea and summer: deep blue like the open water, yellow like the sun and its warmth, and light natural wood reminiscent of old boats and beach loungers.

Some furniture elements stem from intriguing technical research, such as the dining area cabinet doors, clad with repurposed blue-pigmented sail fabric from a boat, or the metallized finish applied to the custom-designed dining table.
Transparency is a fundamental theme - an expanded, seamless relationship between indoors and outdoors, between architecture and the sea. Every space frames a portion of the sea through the patio and infinity pool.

Functional built-in storage elements blend into the white architectural shell, while the furnishings stand out as carefully curated design pieces - such as Albini’s Veliero bookshelf, Prouvé's armchairs, Wegner’s chairs, and custom-designed pieces created specifically for this house, like the blue-metalized dining table and the yellow-ceramic outdoor table.

It is a radiant home, meant to be lived in barefoot, shared with friends, a place to contemplate the landscape and simply feel good!