VILLA FERRARO

Villa Ferraro, also known as the Hotel “Belsito”, is owned by an old important family from Capri and presented itself as an old decadent building which lost its Mediterranean character. The garden, even though preserved in its charm, was in an evident state of abandon and deterioration. It extends itself till the big covering roof terrace, which, despite the beautiful view towards Marina Piccola’s bay, was used as a huge deposit for water tanks. The architect’s main goal was to bring back to life the original character of the building. The villa, now used as a private residence, develops itself on 2 levels. At the ground floor there are 2 living rooms, the dining room, the kitchen and a service apartment. In all the rooms the old vaulted ceilings were restored. For the floorings the architect chose a white terracotta treated with wax. Shades of white with accents of color were used for the whole ground floor to give more vivacity and brightness to the environment. The night area is situated on the upper floor, where every room has its own bathroom. On this floor typical ceramic tiles from Capri were chosen to frame and highlight the white terracotta flooring. In the bathrooms there are ceramics which differ in colors and drawings. Old vaulted ceilings were restored on this floor too, cross vaults in the rooms and bathrooms, and barrel vaults in the hallway. The interior design is mainly composed of furniture conceived by the architect with a few worldwide selected pieces such as the big leather trunk, the imposing crystal black chandelier in the hall and the antique venetian mirror of the late 1700s. To create a warm and cozy atmosphere, the architect used neutral shades for the fabrics (cotton and linen) and furniture, with a few accents of color to confer the chromatic brightness which characterizes the Brazilian clients. Mediterranean taste was recreated even externally using large typical Capri style columns which predominate the front façade of the villa. On the big covering roof terrace the architect chose to give a more modern accent by using a predominant total white, interrupted by a thin and long water blade, which runs longitudinally through the whole terrace and ends in a big stonework jacuzzi. In the garden the Capri style was introduced by using a few Mediterranean elements such as the big central oven, the soft masonry bench placed under a wisteria arbor and the big wrought iron table with a ceramic tile top, designed by the same architect. To recreate the warmth and beauty of the island and to donate a more naturalistic aspect, many different and colorful plants were introduced to compose a beautiful scented garden. In virtue of the importance that the building had in the past, the red Pompeian color of the façade has been re-established as well.