An Abandoned Tobacco Factory in Puglia Is Reborn as a Tranquil Retreat

The scent of the Adriatic fills the Puglian air on a typical spring day. Silvery olive timber and Mediterranean pines defy the sirocco winds close to Il Tabacchificio (“the Tobacco Manufacturing unit”), a constructing with a easy and sq. profile boasts an attention-grabbing historical past and an opulent current. First constructed within the Nineteen Thirties, it as soon as employed a couple of hundred folks, largely ladies. On the time, the province of Lecce produced 1 / 4 of Italy’s tobacco, and this operation was probably the most vital within the area.

Within the postwar interval, a part of Tabacchificio was used to retailer meals till the Nineteen Sixties, when it was transformed into small metallic and body manufacturing facility. After years of neglect, the present homeowners, who bought it in 2014, determined to renovate it whereas preserving its unique character. The work, which lasted 4 years, was entrusted to Raffaele Centonze, an architect who describes himself as a “storyteller of areas.” He enhanced the constructing’s unique options and made it probably the most standard areas within the area for each Italian and worldwide vacationers.

After years of neglect, the present homeowners, who purchased the constructing in 2014, determined to renovate it whereas preserving its unique character.

The work, which lasted 4 years, was entrusted to Raffaele Centonze, “a storyteller of areas” who was capable of improve the unique options. Within the eating space, the desk is by Marina Residence Interiors and it’s surrounded by Tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen (Knoll) and Panton chairs from Vitra.

The doorway to Tabacchificio, the place three items from Gaetano Pesce’s well-known UP collection stand out: the foot (proper, foreground), the pink armchair (within the rear of the photograph) and the ball pouf, all from B&B Italia. The commercial hanging lamps are Naviglio by Boffi.

Sustainability performed a key function within the renovation, with Centonze utilizing reclaimed supplies like classic doorways and different interval parts. The primary entrance results in an open house with vaulted ceilings, white partitions, and polished concrete flooring that replicate the room’s pure gentle. The entrance door aligns with one on the room’s rear, serving to the house really feel extra open. Glass and iron parts intensify the constructing’s industrial, rationalist soul. What was as soon as a spot of intense labor has now turn into devoted to leisure.