The secret heartbeat of an awake house

By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello

The ancient heart of Lecce keeps stories that slide between the walls with the same naturalness with which the limestone absorbs the passage of time. In that network of alleys that seem designed to confuse the traveler and seduce the attentive observer, stands a residence that has spanned more than five centuries with the serenity of something that knows its own destiny. Its origins date back to the 15th century, when the Marescallo, or Maresgallo, family erected it as a symbol of presence and lineage. In those years Rauccio Maresgallo lived there, a figure so linked to the city that even the Lecce forest adopted his name. Shortly before 1565, Giacomo Marescallo decided to transform the house and summoned the architect Gian Giacomo dell’Acaya, who conceived a portal inspired by the “Portae Rusticae” of Serlio’s treatise, a gesture that even today retains an almost ceremonial force.

The centuries left traces, added layers, erased others. The house saw interventions by masters such as Zimbalo and Larducci, who enriched its architectural language with details that dialogue with the baroque tradition without losing the original sobriety. Time moved forward, and with it came moments when the structure seemed to retreat into a deep silence. Boarded windows, expired floors, darkened walls. The beauty remained, although hidden under the weight of the years.

Everything changed when Miriam de Rienzo and Lionel Gazzola crossed the threshold for the first time. The scene they found mixed desolation and promise. Lionel, with a career dedicated to the recovery of historic buildings, understood that this place required careful listening. Each wall contained a message, each crack revealed an episode, each pigment kept a fragment of memory. Miriam, with her collector’s sensitivity, perceived that the palace could be reborn as a space where art, design and hospitality were intertwined in a unique experience. The couple decided to undertake a restoration that sought to allow the building to reveal its own voice.

The process lasted two years. Local artisans, heirs of techniques passed down from generation to generation, worked with a precision that borders on ritual. The stone recovered its original texture, the stuccos breathed again, the vaults were cleaned with a delicacy that allowed the frescoes to emerge without losing their character. Some rooms required complex interventions, such as the incorporation of a wooden structure to redefine a volume. Every decision was made with absolute attention to the spirit of the place.

A universe where every detail builds a world

The entrance to the palace opens onto a courtyard that acts as a sensory threshold. Light filters through the ancient walls and reveals a hidden garden, an intimate space where a swimming pool surrounded by Salento vegetation creates an unexpected refuge. This first encounter prepares the visitor for what is to come: a succession of environments that combine the memory of the 16th century with a contemporary vision of beauty.

The piano nobile displays a series of rooms that seem designed for conversation, contemplation and discovery. The works of art coexist with furniture selected with a criterion that favors harmony over ostentation. The creations of local and international artists are integrated with vintage pieces and design objects that add character without interrupting the dialogue with historical architecture. Each room has its own identity, an atmosphere that invites you to stop.

The suites, conceived as havens of calm, combine the elegance of the past with contemporary comfort. Some open onto private terraces, others preserve corners where the light falls with a softness that transforms the space into an intimate setting. The materials vary depending on the room: Venetian terrazzo, dark marbles, warm woods. Every detail was chosen with precise intention, from the specially designed brass handles to the trompe l’oeil papers that amplify perspectives.

Roberto Ruspoli’s mural, “Il Sole Anche di Notte,” greets visitors at the entrance with an energy that seems to expand throughout the building. Its figures, inspired by archaic dances from Salento, move over the vaults as if they guarded the spirit of the place. Its ceramics, scattered in different environments, add a visual rhythm that accompanies the route. Contemporary sculptures, historical busts, harlequins by Maxime Vardanian and photographs that capture gestures and glances complete a collection that turns the palace into an intimate museum.

The building unfolds on three levels culminating in an attic from which Lecce is revealed in all its complexity. The Duomo stands so close that it seems to be part of the house, while the Roman Theater opens like a window into the city’s remote past. The terrace, adorned with cacti and Mediterranean plants, becomes a privileged viewpoint, a space where time seems to stop.

The spa, conceived with a sensitivity that privileges deep well-being, offers an environment where water, darkness and natural materials create an atmosphere of tranquility. It is a space that invites introspection, a perfect counterpoint to the visual richness of the rest of the palace.

Miriam and Lionel’s intention was never to create a hotel. His desire was to open a house where the aesthetic experience could be lived in every gesture. Each object, each texture, each choice reveals absolute dedication. From the cartapesta-covered chairs to the mugs created by artists, everything responds to a vision that privileges authenticity and emotion.

The result is a place that moves. A space where history becomes intimate, where art becomes company, where every detail invites you to discover something new. Whoever crosses that threshold takes away an experience that remains beyond memory, like a perfume that returns without warning, like a flash that transforms the gaze forever.