Italy, on request: lake villas, agriturismi and a hot south

Three Italies, three drawings

• The lakes (Como, Maggiore, Garda, Orta): mild, damp lake air, stone villas, old terraces and strong landscape protection. A glass cabin facing the water and a plunge pool at the edge of the terrace is the signature picture.
• The hills of the centre (Tuscany, Umbria, the Marche): farmhouses and agriturismi, thick walls, hot summers and cold winters. A cabin in a barn and a plunge pool in the courtyard.
• The hot south and the islands (Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily): dry heat, white stone and shade. A chiller sized for 38–40 °C, a pergola over the pool and a cabin used in the evening.

Why on request

We have not built a distribution network in Italy, and we will not pretend to. Each project is priced individually: the freight route, the lifting, the installation team and the local rules are planned with you before you pay a deposit, and the layout shows them in writing. If an Italian project is a good fit for our workshop, we say so and send the 3D layout; if it is not, we say that too.

Six words for the first call with the comune

Which title applies to a free-standing cabin or a small pool varies by comune and by the plot; ask the technical office, and send us the answer.

Lakes: stone, old terraces and a boat

Lakeside villas are on steep plots with old terraces and narrow roads; some can be reached only on foot or by boat. Crates are split into what two people can carry, and the glass is lifted with suction lifters. The lake keeps the air mild and damp, so cabins need ventilation and the pool needs a cover. Salt is not the issue; humidity is.

Heat in the south

From Puglia to Sicily the opponent is the sun. The chiller sits in shade with an air path, the pool takes a cover or a pergola and glass is turned away from the afternoon. See cold plunge in a Mediterranean summer.

A lake villa and a farmhouse, in numbers

A day on site by the lake

1. 07:30. The crates arrive on a small lorry at the last place it can stop. The panels are carried down the steps by hand.
2. 09:00. The cabin base is checked with a level. The wall panels go up, the ceiling goes on.
3. 12:00. Benches, heater and wiring, then the glass: lifted in with suction lifters and four people.
4. 16:00. The door is hung, the seals checked, the pool connections made.
5. 18:00. First firing. Tomorrow, about forty minutes of heat and a temperature test; the day after, handover.

Steps and narrow lanes mean the day starts early. We plan it with you and the neighbours the week before.

What adds cost on an Italian plot

• Lifting. A crane or a hand carry on a hillside plot.
• The permit route. Finding out which title applies to a free-standing cabin.
• The electrical supply. A cabin of six seats wants a protected circuit the old board may not have.

Hotels and agriturismi

Italian hotels and agriturismi already sell wellness. What we add is a cabin with a glass wall facing the landscape and a cold pool of sea-glass tile beside it: not another spa, but a precise object placed where the view is. We take hotels and agriturismi on request, with the plant room drawn into the existing building.

Before you write to us about Italy

• Which region, and is the plot near a lake, a coast or a protected landscape?
• Is it a private house, a farm stay or a hotel, and which licence does it hold?
• Who decides what may be built: the comune, the region, a landscape authority?
• How will the crates get to the plot: lorry, boat, hand?

Freight and lifting for Italy are quoted on request; the equipment ranges are in the price list and the kit builder.

Related pages: garden saunas describes the base and the roof, plunge pools the basin and the plant.