Stazzo Lu Palazu

The stazzo - a traditional Gallurese farmhouse - has been restored using the same wind-sculpted granite that forms the surrounding landscape. The interiors pair rough stone walls with Italian contemporary furniture, and the kitchen is built around a centuries-old granite hearth now fitted with a modern wood-burning oven. The property sits on 20 acres of macchia scrubland with walking trails to granite rock formations. The Gallura region of northern Sardinia is defined by its granite. Vast boulders, sculpted by wind and rain into organic shapes, dot the landscape like the work of an abstract sculptor. Stazzo Lu Palazu is built from this same stone, quarried on the property and laid by masons using techniques unchanged for centuries. The walls are rough-hewn, the lintels are single slabs of granite, and the overall effect is of a building that has emerged from the earth rather than been constructed on it. The restoration was a collaboration between a Sardinian architect and a Milanese interior designer. The architect handled the structural work - reinforcing the roof, adding modern foundations, and inserting new windows where the original house had only small apertures - while the designer furnished the interiors with contemporary Italian pieces that contrast with the raw stone. A B&B Italia sofa faces the granite hearth; a Flos floor lamp stands beside a wall that has been exposed to show the building's original stonework. Four bedrooms occupy the main house and a converted outbuilding. The master bedroom has a vaulted granite ceiling and a freestanding bathtub positioned to face a window looking out across the macchia to the sea in the distance. The converted outbuilding contains two bedrooms with a shared living area, suitable for older children or guests who want independence. The 20 acres of macchia scrubland surrounding the property are criss-crossed with walking trails that lead to some of northern Sardinia's most extraordinary granite formations. The landscape is fragrant with wild myrtle, rosemary, and juniper, and the trails offer views across the Gallura hills to the coast. Bird life is abundant, including the golden eagles that nest in the granite cliffs above the property. The nearest Costa Smeralda beaches are a 15-minute drive. The property's concierge can arrange boat trips from Cannigione or Palau to the Maddalena archipelago. The town of Arzachena, 20 minutes inland, has a weekly market and several restaurants specialising in the robust Gallurese cuisine - wild boar, suckling pig cooked in myrtle leaves, and the local Vermentino di Gallura wines.