DATA SHEET
Owner: Guillaume Foucher e Frédéric Biousse – Les Domaines de Fontenille
Network: Relais & Châteaux
Renovation and interior design: Pierattelli Architetture
Furnishings: Gervasoni, Lema, Tectona
Custom made furnishings: AB Arredamenti Bianchi, MG sedie&tavoli
Lighting: Flos, Platek
Bathrooms: Ceramica Cielo, Geberit, Marazzi, Rare, IB Rubinetterie
Doors: Salto
Curtains: Moncini Tendaggi
Kitchen (restaurant): Zanussi
Flooring: Cotto Manetti Gusmano & Figli
Artworks: Dune Varela
Photos: Iuri Niccolai, Sylvie Becquet
The respectful, subtle restoration project was done with sensitivity and intention. This is the approach that Frédéric Biousse and Guillaume Foucher, a French couple who came out of the world of art and fashion, bring to each of their properties, first in France and now in Tuscany, where they opened Pieve Aldina in the heart of Chianti. This retreat, a Relais & Châteaux affiliate, once the summer residence of a bishop and, before that, a monastery, with three houses – the master house, which is under historical preservation restraints, the study, and the convent have a total of 22 rooms and suites with view of the hills.
The renovation, the work of the Florentine firm Pierattelli Architetture, preserves the thick outer walls, the curved tile roofs, the stone arcades, and the inner courtyards through which air circulates. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century frescoes were restored in several rooms. Other rooms feature stencils and trompe-l’oeil depicting putti and grotesques. And still others have walls in natural lime with a sensuous palette of pastel greens and painted wood panels in harmony with the olive groves surrounding the estate.
The owners recount how “one of the greatest challenges was creating harmony between the original decorations and the minimalist furnishings.” They took care with the combination of colors and materials, the traditional Tuscan rustic appearance, with terracotta floors made to measure by a local artisan, and contemporary solutions such as Gervasoni sofas, Lema wardrobes, Flos, and Platek lamps.
While the colors of the common rooms suggest earth and nature, the Le Rondini restaurant, created in what was once a warehouse for farm tools, has a terracotta vaulted ceiling lit by track lamps. Accessed from a large, well-lit lobby or from the garden that makes a beautiful backdrop in the warm months for outdoor dining, it has many open-air lounge areas furnished with Tectona armchairs and sofas in elegant black and white.
