Umberto121: A 14th-century Holiday Home in Tuscany by Montsant Moreno.

In the Tuscan hinterland, atop a knoll near Crete Senesi, lies the historic village of Montisi, one of five municipalities in Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village’s history is writ large across the dwellings that inhabit it, as evidenced by one particular home dating back to the 1300s. Exhibiting hallmarks of each century it’s survived, Umberto121 is a mediaeval curiosity that summons you into a world where time stands still.

When the present owners, a Barcelona-based couple with two young daughters, decided to purchase the house in the summer of 2020, they never intended to move in. Not permanently, anyway. The intent was to renovate it remotely and use the place as a summer escape. Above all, their priority was preserving the authenticity of the original architecture and the additions it had earned through the centuries. It was an undertaking they entrusted upon Barcelona-based interior designer Montsant Moreno, whom they tapped to breathe life into their vision. What they weren’t prepared for, however, were the surprises that would follow.

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“When we bought the house, the walls of two rooms were covered with frescoes, but we knew there had to be more,” explained the homeowners of the 350-square-metre residence, comprising five double bedrooms, a large living room, a study area and fireplace, a kitchen, a dining room and a garden. Thus began an exercise in excavation, with history being peeled back wall by wall, layer by layer. Sure enough, previously invisible frescoes began flickering to life, reviving long-forgotten stories of centuries past.

There were as many additions as there were subtractions: original beams and doors were restored, graniglia (terrazzo) floors from the 1930s were polished up, and unnecessary elements added in recent decades were stripped squarely away.

Designers and owners sought to give each room a character of its own by scouring local markets for lamps from different periods and tapping Italian and Spanish antique dealers for characterful treasures. In doing so, they landed a lucky little jackpot, including a 1930s Italian coffee table, mid-century Italian armchairs, dazzling Spanish ball lamps from the ‘70s, a 19th-century marble dining table, and a 1981 graphic artwork by Pierre Fix-Masseau. Contemporary novelties—such as lamps by Santa & Cole, a Tria bookcase by Mobles 114, a Vito sofa by Design Republic, and furniture and lighting by Artemide—were camouflaged into the shell, in a way that felt authentic to its spirit.

For the owners, the restoration was steeped in sentiment. So much so, that leaving it behind for a life in the city hardly felt worthwhile. It was only a matter of time before the family decided to return to Montisi—this time for good.

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[Images courtesy of Montsant Moreno and Umberto121. Photography by Meritxell Arjalaguer.]