Larco: Restored Umbrian Farmhouse
Larco sits on the soft green hills above Piegaro, Italy, reworked by Special Italy – Special Umbria as a compact yet open country house. The two-bedroom retreat keeps the bones of a 16th century farmhouse while leaning into 21st century comfort, from heated pool to covered terrace. Guests move between cotto floors, resin surfaces and wide garden views that anchor daily life in the Umbrian landscape.
Warm air moves across the hills before reaching the stone farmhouse, where low walls and olive trees guide the eye toward distant Tuscan ridges. Inside, resin floors meet bleached beams and wide glass so daylight stretches through each room and pulls attention back to the garden, pool, and sloping fields beyond.
This is a compact house in rural Umbria, updated in 2024 by Special Italy – Special Umbria as a two-bedroom retreat for year-round living. The project keeps the character of a 16th century farmhouse while aligning daily routines with the garden, pool, and far-reaching views. Context drives each choice: materials, openings, and outdoor rooms all work with the gentle climate and long seasons of use.
Framing The Hills
From the garden edge, the view runs over olive trees to soft, layered hills that roll toward Tuscany. A beautiful stone wall wraps the heated pool on two sides, creating a kind of viewing terrace that directs the westerly outlook and quiets the immediate surroundings. The pool’s 12m x 4m proportions stretch the perspective, so swimmers align with the horizon at sunset. Here, late light hits the water and wall together, turning daily laps into a regular appointment with the changing sky.
Porch As Outdoor Room
A shaded porch runs as the main outdoor room, set for both dining and lounging with the long view always in reach. This covered terrace pulls life outward in the warmer months, giving a cool, protected place from which to read, eat, or work while feeling the slow shift of light on the hills. When heat builds by the pool, the porch becomes the pause point between water and interior, a hinge that keeps inside and outside usefully linked.
Rooms Tuned To Seasons
Inside, two double en-suite bedrooms sit on separate levels, which keeps the house flexible for families or friends sharing longer stays. Year-round use guides the layout and finishes, so the interior feels as cosy in the cooler months as it is open during summer. Traditional cotto floors ground parts of the house with familiar texture, while modern resin surfaces and pale beams brighten the 110sqm interior in low winter light. An expanse of glass, contemporary furniture, modern art, and stacks of books keep rooms active even when weather keeps guests indoors.
Quiet Rural Context
Although Larco forms part of a larger building under the same ownership, it reads as its own house with a private garden and pool. Offices sit behind the rear wall, so daily work life remains out of view and the rural setting stays undisturbed. Beyond the property line, short trips connect guests to the medieval town of Piegaro just 2km away and to Città della Pieve a brief drive uphill, where streets, restaurants, and bars extend the rhythm of country days.
As evening falls, attention returns to the pool terrace and stone wall, now catching the last color in the western sky. Guests settle on the porch or by the water, watching hills fade into shadow while the farmhouse holds a steady, familiar glow. Light, landscape, and the compact house come together in a quiet routine that repeats with each sunset.
Photography by Alessandro Zaccaro
Visit Special Italy – Special Umbria
