Carlo Zingaro, a cardiac surgeon, and Eugenia Morgano, a nurse, had been partners in the operating theater for two years and in life for one when they moved in together in 2012. They rented a rustic cottage near the town of Ancona in Italy’s rural Marche region. The rental house, which opened to a garden and pool and was surrounded by working farms, felt like an antidote to the high stakes and sterile rooms of the hospital. Yet the interior’s 322 square feet put the squeeze on the couple, especially as they weighed starting a family.

Carlo was thinking about building a new, contemporary home when by chance he met Ancona- and Milan-based architect Simone Subissati at the gym one day. They quickly developed a friendship, which turned into a commission—and today, Carlo and Eugenia are raising their children, Andrea and Marco, in a 3,120-square-foot residence designed by the architect.

The couple had trusted that Subissati’s familial connection to Le Marche would yield the kind of country residence they wanted. Subissati, meanwhile, says that although the homeowners-to-be had several specific requests, such as a double-height living area, a large bathroom that included a hammam, a sweeping driveway, and an outdoor pool, they had otherwise encouraged the kind of creative freedom that could “make your legs tremble.”

After the architect tracked down an acre abutting wheat and sunflower fields about a 30-minute drive southwest of Ancona’s hospital, Carlo and Eugenia purchased the land in 2013. Multiple trips to the site—to watch New Year’s fireworks or to simply contemplate the setting—helped the couple decide that the house should sit atop the property’s ridgeline, capturing views of the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Sibillini Mountains to the southwest.

“We didn’t want to redo schemes or references that had already been seen. We had to make tangible what we envisioned—we knew where we wanted to go.”
—Simone Subissati, architect

Understanding that Carlo and Eugenia wanted to feel radically close to the landscape, Subissati designed a narrow, gabled structure inspired by Le Marche’s traditional farm buildings. He proposed full-height openings on the ground floor that would make the outdoors almost indistinguishable from the inhabitable space. The clients were enthusiastic about the plan, but the local building code barred a house long enough to accommodate both the porous design and the full complement of rooms.

To reconcile concept with reality, Subissati broke the house into two sections, placing the garage a few yards away from the main building. Above the garage and its second-floor living spaces he installed pre-tensioned PVC fabric on a wood frame to give the separate structures the appearance of a single roofline.

Subissati says the restriction pushed him to design a home even more connected to the landscape than his original plan. “Being in the house has enhanced our understanding of Le Marche’s historical rural lifestyle,” Carlo says. The doctor adds that the final design provides the “breath of air” he and Eugenia had longed for: “I can spend hours watching the country around me.”

Project Credits:

Architect: Simone Subissati Architects

Construction: Montagna Costruzioni

Structural Engineer: Matteo Virgulti

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This Home in the Italian Countryside Is Radically Open to the Landscape