Studio Andrew Trotter turns an abandoned school into a small villa in the Carovigno countryside

The countryside of Carovigno is filled with small lamias, which are stone sheds for the local landowners to store their equipment, and very large masserie, where the affluent land owners once lived. As it is quite unusual to come across a building that has the style of a masseria but the size of a small villa, Studio Andrew Trotter felt an immediate affinity and connection to this unique home. After studying the home and its history, the multidisciplinary design studio discovered that the building was originally a school for girls which was abandoned in the early 1960s. Studio Andrew Trotter was eager to bring the old space with character back to life and suggested the small villa to one of their friends and clients, who bought the place immediately without having seen it in real life.

Studio Andrew Trotter believes that any design should belong to the place where it is built, which is why ancient structures and shapes were preserved in the design as much as possible while using local materials to renovate irreparable elements. They tried to leave the exterior patina where possible to keep the soul of the old girls’ school intact. Although the interior walls needed to be fully plastered, the local spirit was kept intact by bringing in an artisan who makes his own lime plaster and lime paints. Studio Andrew Trotter scraped years of flaky paint to reveal the beautiful old stone of the portico, giving away more pieces of the building’s history. After a 9-month long extensive renovation, Casolare Scarani was born: an idyllic 3-bedroom family home with charm and historic character.

Photography by Salva López