Could You Share Your Dream Home?

Two families in Padua, Italy, combine forces—and resources—to build a pair of matching houses.
Photos by

In an ancient city, a young family was bursting at the seams of their apartment. Luca Pagnan, a businessman, and his wife, Elena, a lawyer, felt stuck. They had two children—Cecilia, now 5, and Giovanni, 2 (baby Francesco joined the family in 2015)—and barely a balcony to connect their house to the outdoors. So they began looking for an affordable lot in the city’s dense urban core.

Join Dwell+ to Continue

Subscribe to Dwell+ to get everything you already love about Dwell, plus exclusive home tours, video features, how-to guides, access to the Dwell archive, and more. You can cancel at any time.

Try Dwell+ for FREE

Already a Dwell+ subscriber? Sign In

Published

Last Updated