Holiday home Casa & Cas­setta Tessino

If you are looking for a place that seems to have fallen out of this world, Casa Tessino in Italian-speaking Switz­erland offers a slow-paced paradise all to yourself. Sur­rounded by nature, birdsong and rustling leaves. Only at dusk do deer or foxes occa­sio­nally visit to roam through the garden of the palm-covered estate. Otherwise, there is great silence and green expanse.

Built in 1879, the stone house is located at an altitude of 550 metres, a fifteen-minute walk (and only on foot!) from Loco – a Ticino mountain village on one of the steep, sunny slopes of the Onsernone Valley, through whose gorges the Isorno river meanders. Where civi­li­sation gives way to dense, jungle-like forest, climate activist, archi­tec­tural pho­to­grapher and artist Peter Til­lessen has trans­formed an old, dila­pi­dated stone house into an expe­ri­mental holiday home that ope­rates entirely without fossil fuels. The energy required is pro­duced by wood from the pro­perty’s own forest and pho­to­vol­taics on the roof, with any surplus fed into the local grid.

During the reno­vation, the house was gutted and ever­y­thing super­fluous was removed. Since then, the open roof truss with its exposed his­toric beams and over­sized windows has pro­vided air, light and modern mini­malism. All rooms and acti­vities are close tog­ether, yet there is still enough space – whether for cooking, eating or con­tem­plating. Guests can sleep either in an adjoining double room, in the double bed on the gallery (with a magni­ficent view of the coun­tryside) or on the two daybeds in the living room. And on mild days, the covered terrace becomes an extended living space and a favourite place to relax.

Those who desire even more sim­plicity, solitude and self-suf­fi­ciency, just need to walk another 150 metres and climb a few steps. Inspired by Henry David Tho­reau’s ‘Walden’, architect Olin Petzold designed a purist tree house that com­ple­ments the stone house in summer with an addi­tional guest room and studio in the middle of the forest – the Casetta Tessino. As local building regu­la­tions did not allow for a foun­dation, a tri­an­gular wooden structure was created that floats above the forest floor and is sup­ported by three trees. An inter­me­diate space, reduced to the essen­tials: a double bed hidden under wooden panels, a bench and a desk with a view of the valley. The poly­car­bonate walls provide light, while the canopy of leaves pro­vides shade in summer. When all three facades are open, you sit sur­rounded by trees, birds and squirrels. A place to observe, reflect and write – very much in the spirit of Thoreau.

The eco­lo­gical phi­lo­sophy of the entire ensemble can best be described as ‘high-low’: on the one hand, the artis­ti­cally revi­ta­lised house offers a great deal of comfort with its high-quality mate­rials, private sauna and exclusive forest retreat. At the same time, you have to work for it, whether it’s chopping wood or using the envi­ron­men­tally fri­endly com­posting toilet. The entire fur­nis­hings have been deli­berately reduced to leave as much space as pos­sible for silence. Only a library with regional lite­rature on orni­thology and mycology and a guitar provide inspi­ration and pas­times. For holidays free of unnecessary ballast.

What to do

Hiking through the wild and romantic landscape (e.g. up to the Garina Pass or along the Isorno), swimming: swimming spots on the Isorno (full of ponds, rapids, waterfalls and you are usually completely alone; they are a 20-minute walk from the house), at Lake Maggiore, about 45 minutes away by car, at the Bagni di Craveggia (Italy), nature observation and creative work in the tree house, visit to the baroque church of San Remigio, the Museo Onsernonese or the historic mill in Loco, as well as other cultural offerings in Locarno, Lugano and Bellinzona.

Why we like this house

An inspiring blend of consistent sustainability, conscious reduction and a high-quality atmosphere. Thoreau would certainly have felt very much at home here.

This house is great for


Sustainability enthusiasts, slow travellers and lovers of unusual places, unique architecture and pure nature.

Sustainability


All of the house's energy is generated by wood from its own forest or solar collectors on the roof; fossil fuels are completely avoided. the house has a composting toilet
; Public transport: travelling by public transport is recommended; ten buses run daily between Loco and Locarno.

Details

Availability calendar

The calendar shows the current availability of the accommodation. On days with white background the accommodation is still available. On days with dark gray background the accommodation is not available.

Request/Booking