Wine and Art Villa
Surrounded by vineyards, the villa’s interior spaces combine modern artworks, antique furnishings and sublime views across the countryside.
What is the story behind Casa Sintra, what was your inspiration to create it?
Casa Sintra was designed by my father-in-law, Frederico Valsassina, who is a well-known architect, together with my wife, who is also an architect and interior designer. Her parents own the adjacent property and we used to go there at weekends. Eventually, we decided to buy the plot next door and build a modern house, which is Casa Sintra. We used only a few materials and elevated it off the ground because of the humidity in the region.
For us, the main thing was that the house is close to Lisbon, so we could stay and commute to work if we needed or go to dinners and social events in the city. We have had the property for eight or nine years now and only rent it out a few times per year, as we want to be able to use it ourselves. It is also used to shoot commercials for a lot of international brands because it is so wide and open with unique light.
How would you describe the atmosphere and interior design of Casa Sintra?
It features big spaces and is surrounded by pine trees. It’s very beautiful to be seated in the living room and look out towards the trees — there are around 400 on the property. At sunset, the sun filters through all of the pine trees and you get this very unique light in the house.
To you personally, what is so special about Casa Sintra?
How it is decorated and how it relates to the surrounding nature. When you are sitting in the living room reading a book, you look up to see all of the pine trees — it’s beautiful. You don’t see any other houses, so there is a lot of privacy. Even at night, you don’t see other lights, just the pine trees illuminated.
