Old & new Page 11 of 16

Porcignano, near the Tuscan village of Radda in Itatly’s Chianti region, was once the private summer house of Leo Lionni (1910-1999).Today, guests can experience the villa with its sculpture garden.

In the Moselle village of Bernkastel-Wehlen, a former church has been converted into a holiday home. The old church room with its eight-metre-high vaulted ceiling now serves as a dining and seminar room.

Ortigia – the small island off the east coast of Sicily – is connected by several bridges to the mainland. It forms the historic centre of the city of Syracuse with narrow streets, small squares and baroque buildings.

At first glance, Bergloft Privà in Switzerland’s Lumnezia valley looks like an ordinary stable typical to the region: an airy log cabin built upon raw stone foundations. Behind the facade, however, is a modern holiday home.

Situated in the Norwegian city of Larvik, Vindlyveien was designed by the architect Ulrik Hellum (1931-2016), known for his simple huts that are perfectly at one with nature.

Zalig in Antwerpen are two holiday home in the historic part of the Belgian city on the Scheldt river. The old townhouses combine old and new to create a special living experience.

The volcanic island of Pantelleria, located between Sicily and Tunisia, is known as the "Black Pearl of the Mediterranean". The holiday home Pantelleria Nikà is enthroned here on rugged cliffs and offers a breathtaking view.

Casa Ceppi is a rural property on the Croatian peninsula of Istria. The historic complex, which comprises a main building and outbuildings grouped around a central square, was in ruins until it was discocerd by the Berlin architecture firm Wietersheim, who lovingly restored it and gave it a new, contemporary lease of life.

The small boutique hotel Mezi Plutky in the Czech Carpathian Mountains effortlessly blends apparent contradictions. Old and new, darkness and light, privacy and community come together to create a haven of peace and tranquility.

The workshop of an old carpentry in the town of Hohenberg in Germany’s Fichtel Mountains has been converted into a holiday loft. A cool interior design creates a spacious ambience.

Le Casuzze and La Balza are two holiday homes located on a ridge behind the Sicilian town of Noto – with broad views of the city and the sea. The former stables strike a successful balance between simplicity and comfort.

Built at the beginning of the 20th century, the water tower at the Kaiserbahnhof in Potsdam once supplied water to steam engines at the station. Luckily two Architects saved the tower from falling into decay and converted into a holiday apartment, which now extends over six levels.

The Hotel Bären in the village square of Mellau in the Austria’s Bregenzerwald is one of the few stone houses within a village characterized by wooden houses. Its new owners have breathed new life into the traditional house, which dates to 1872.

The Camino de Playa is located on the edge of the Galician nature reserve of Costa da Vela, near a kilometer-long sandy beach. From the outside, the house has a traditional appearance; from the inside, it is emphatically modern.

The Kapitänshaus (captain's house) Wieck is a lovingly restored house with a view of the Bodden lagoons in the resort of Wieck auf dem Darß on Germany’s Baltic coast. Dating back to 1850, the house is heritage listed and situated amidst a mature garden with beautiful old trees.

An urban loft ambience in an historic barn: In a little village near Freiburg in Germany’s Breisgau region, this heritage listed barn dating to 1824 is now welcoming holiday guests – the farm animals having long since moved out.

Loblocher Hof is a winery built in 1841 in the picturesque wine village of Gimmeldingen on the edge of the Palatinate Forest and offers apartments with a mix from countryside ambience and modern elements.

The holiday apartments in the secluded village of Sauris in the Carnic Dolomites in Northern Italy combine the flair of a mountain hut with modern design.

With beautiful views of the mountains of the Serra de Tramuntana, the Can Bou holiday home is located on the outskirts of the small town of Sóller – about three kilometres from the northwest coast of Mallorca.

The old four-sided farm in the Bavarian Forest has been in the family for seven generations. In 2017, the ensemble consisting of a residential building, stable, outbuildings and a listed bread bakery was restored and adapted.

Nestled in the fields of northern Western Pomerania, the Kranich Hotel owes its name to the fact that hundreds of cranes rest here in spring and autumn before moving on to their summer or winter quarters.

With a broad view of the Dolomites, the Parkhotel Holzner is located on a sunny plateau above the South Tyrolean town of Bolzano. Built in 1908 in Alpine Art Noveau style and family-owned for four generations, the hotel has been progressively renovated and expanded over the past century.

This townhouse in the center of the mountain village Vidovici on the Croatian island of Cres is more than 200 years old. First it was a stable, later it was extended into a residential house and even used as a small chapel.

In South Tyrol's wine village Caldaro, Verena Huf has transformed a 1970s guesthouse into a stylish B&B. ‘Das Wanda’ bears the name of a former inn on the island of Elba that belonged to the grandfather. Her B&B radiates the same Mediterranean mood.