cultural exchange Donatella Cappelletti and Giulio della Porta on the piazza of their newly renovated 19th-century single house
Ciao Bella!
The kitchen island was built in the style of old Tuscan cupboards by local firm Perrin Woodworking; the chandelier is by Umbrian blacksmith Alberto Alunni.
REMINDERS OF HOME One of three Portoro marble mantels original to the house.
Italian artisanship The dining table is typical of 14th-century Umbrian and Tuscan pieces. The chairs and the chandelier are 18th-century reproductions by Italian furniture maker Luciano Rotini.
In the double parlors are paintings by John Carroll Doyle and an anonymous Flemish piece (over the near mantel). All the downstairs living spaces are painted a hand-mixed velvet grey.
FAMILY COLLECTION A sculpture by Italian artist Ambrogio Pozzi entitled Presenza Sciamana.
An Indonesian four-poster bed and the della Porta family crest on canvas in the master bedroom
A 16th-century portrait of Cardinal Ardicinus della Porta hangs over a bust of an Italian princess in the front parlor
In a third-floor guest room, a mantel with two styles of marble brought over from a house in Gubbio, Italy.
A 200-year-old Sicilian chaise lounge chair outside the master bath
HEIRLOOM IMPORTS A bust of a Roman commander sits on a gilded 18th-century table in the second-floor hallway.
The original owner also purchased the adjacent lot to house a garden; the courtyard, punctuated by a stately live oak and a French statue, is protected by a conservation easement.
UNCOMMON GROUNDS A carved teak pergola stands at the far end of the pool, which is located in what once was the property’s stableyard.
In the master bath, the painting is an antique and depicts the Tuscan countryside.
SENSING A PATTERN The pair covered cedar closet door panels in toile wallpaper.
