When Manuel Strebinger first saw this historic palazzo in the car-free center of Nardò, Italy, he thought: “It’s too big.” It wasn’t just the 3,229-square-foot layout that was grand, but the interior proportions as well, as many of the rooms have 21-foot-tall star-vaulted ceilings. The estate had sat vacant for decades, it was missing doors and window glass, and it was home to a flock of pigeons. So Manuel, and his then-partner, and now co-owner Stefan Davids, kept up their search.

Originally from Austria, Manuel is a brand consultant with a passion for designing houses on the side. While living in Italy as a 25-year-old, he learned the language and fell in love with the country. The following years saw him returning frequently for holidays and vacations, and he loved Nardò in particular for its history, culture, proximity to the beach, and the fact that it’s not an overly touristy place that shuts down in the off season.

“Nardo has more than ten churches,” says Manuel. “You can hear church bells in every room.”

Before: Living Room

After: Living and Dining Room

Manuel and Stefan are based in Berlin, so the palazzo was to be their second home and a vacation rental. While they originally wanted something smaller, the more they looked, the more appealing the old palazzo became. “The others did not have this grand feeling,” says Manuel. “There were old houses with some nice characteristics, but I loved the noble palazzo with the high ceilings.”

Stefan and Manuel bought the building and set out to rehabilitate it with new electrical systems, plumbing, and window glass. They rebuilt the roof, inserted a new staircase, and updated the rooftop terrace, which previously hosted chicken coops and hanging laundry. Taking advantage of the spacious interiors, they redrew the plan to accommodate three bedroom suites, including two new bathrooms, as well as a secondary lounge area with a bed, so that a total of eight can sleep there.

Before: Hall

After: Hall

The interior palette got off to a serendipitous start when Manuel remembered something that the realtor had mentioned during their first tour. “She said there might be something nicer [under the painted stair vaults], because there had once been important families living there,” he explains. “So, we scratched off the white paint and discovered all the beautiful colors below.”

What emerged were blue vaults in a bedroom, pink in the kitchen, and more natural tones in the combined living/dining room. It took several weeks of scraping for the craftspeople to reveal the original paint, which, was then sealed with a clear protective finish. “It looks so uneven because, of course, when you scratch it off, it doesn’t come off super even,” says Manuel.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

The ceiling’s imperfections are complemented by the limewashed walls, which also have an imperfect finish. There are “shadows and movement,” says Manuel. “The limewash has a natural touch and lets the walls breathe, which is important in these houses because of humidity and temperature changes.”

Before: Main Bedroom

After: Main Bedroom

To round out the revamp, they refinished the floors with traditional terrazzo, commissioned a custom dining table made with local marble, and brought in vintage furnishings from one of the many antique markets in the area. “I’m quite a perfectionist in general, but I think that beauty sometimes lies in imperfection,” says Manuel. “It’s an old house and it should keep its old character without being too modern. That’s what imperfection means. Not everything is straight.”

Before: Main Bathroom

After: Main Bathroom

Before: Upstairs Suite

After: Upstairs Suite

Before: Rooftop

After: Terrace

More Before & After stories:

A Compact 1960s Apartment in Spain Gets a Quirky, Experimental Retrofit

Trees Grow Right Through the Roof of This Revived Farmhouse in India

In Ireland, an Unusual, Boxy Home Gets a Bold Bauhaus Retrofit

Project Credits:

Architecture: Luigi Albano

Builder: Nuova Impredil

Structural Engineer: Carlo Potenza