Masseria Il Tabacchificio — Diso, Italy

Turning the barrel-vaulted interiors of a 1930s tobacco processing plant in Puglia into a luxurious six-bedroom boutique villa now seems something of a no-brainer, but full kudos to its owners – an Italian diplomat and his Vietnamese lifestyle-blogger wife – for recognising the building’s potential.
Applause, too, for Lecce-based architect Raffaele Centonze for his sensitive rehabilitation of the building and the grounds, the latter stylishly landscaped with silver olive trees and ancient dry stone walls. The high-ceilinged bright rooms are lined with polished concrete and recycled timber and, with more than a passing nod to the Japanese ideal of wabi sabi, eclectically decorated with choice vintage pieces collected by the owners on their travels.
In high summer, a garden lap-pool and the clear waters of nearby Castro Marina are a delight, though the lodge loses none of its charms in winter as guests retreat indoors for home-cooked meals in the bijou cinema.
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Diso, Puglia
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Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
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