Situated in Pesaro, this early 20th-century villa overlooking Italy’s Adriatic coast is a cross-generational treasure. It belongs to the family of Matilde d’Ovidio, CEO of Ratti Boutique, which was founded by her grandparents in 1945. Matilde’s mother, Licia, still lives on the top two floors, while Matilda, her husband, Alberto Curandi Gaist, an insurance broker, and their child live on the ground floor. All enjoy the garden with its heady mix of palm trees, jasmine, tamarisk trees, pittosporum and oleander, either on foot or from the comfort of armchairs.
In 2018, the couple began working with interior designers Raffaella Moroni and Steano Pompucci of Zucca Design to give what Moroni describes as the “very old-fashioned” and “heavy” interior a contemporary look while preserving “the soul of the house.”
“We worked a lot on changing the colours,” says Moroni. “All the doors, and the wooden wall panelling, were dark-brown wood. We replaced them with dark and light greys.” They restyled the interior in 2021, following the birth of the couple’s baby. For Matilde it was also important to retain as much of what she calls the villa’s “emotional value” in their own ground-floor living space, which they updated with 20th century and contemporary art pieces, some bought from Zucca Design Space’s 20th century art and design collection. But a fearless use of colour is the villa’s showstopper.
Blue steals the show. While the couple kept the kitchen’s original 1960s geometric blue ceramic floor tiles, styled after the influential Milanese architect Gio Ponti, they painted the custom-made kitchen cabinetry in vibrant shades of China blue, providing a dramatic backdrop for a set of dishes by Piero Fornasetti, Ponti’s protégé. The custom-designed sliding glass doors, their frames made from painted black iron, create a sense of continuity with the dining room and its blue Berber carpet. Here, vintage touches include a 1970s floor lamp and a wood and leather 1960s Tripolina armchair, as well as a table by Antonia Astori and a centrepiece orange ceramic vase, both from the 1970s.
A giant cactus, designed in 1972 by Drocco e Mello for Gufram, stands on the threshold to the living room, which mixes up the decades to lively effect. Two art deco armchairs sit opposite a 1940s sofa upholstered in black and white. The 60s get a look-in with a metal Polluce glass sphere floor lamp by Enzo Mari and Anna Fasolis for Artemide, which holds its own opposite a 1980s Callicaco floor lamp by Ettore Sottsass, also for Artemide. A 1970s steel and mirrored glass coffee table keeps the peace between them.
Homage is paid to the turquoise Adriatic in the semi open-plan bathroom off the master bedroom, which retains the original 1960s cabinetry by Mario Ceroli while the painted metal door has kept the original leaded glass from the 1970s. The bathroom’s wallpaper, Impression d’Orient by Laura Pozzi (2017), plays with architectural curves and jives with the 1940s round mirror over the sink. A deeper shade of blue follows through into the main bedroom, this time with a blue and green 1970s silk velvet geometric bedspread by Ross Littell showing off the equally angular ‘Vanessa’ metal bed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Gavina.
“I really like the fact that it is an eclectic house where several styles blend harmoniously,” says Matilde, who loves the playful giraffe in the entrance, part of a Dior display used in the Ratti Boutique some years back. “On the one hand you can feel the tradition of an early 20th century home, the vintage and modern elements that reflect the taste of my husband Alberto and, finally, the modern details – like the colours, the paintings, and certain furnishings – that are more connected to my style.”