When Diego Cisi and Stefano Gorni Silvestrini of Archiplan Studio jumped on board to restore a house in the historic Italian town of Mantua (designated the Italian Capital of Culture in 2016, and declared a centro storico or old town, by UNESCO in 2008), the 15th-century wall frescoes were one of the many things that caught their attention. So much so, that the intent to preserve them for posterity, was presented, literally and figuratively, as writing on the wall for the pair.

For Diego and Stefano, the restoration took on the guise of research activity. The layers of the house were slowly peeled back to reveal its past stories and secrets, many of which had been buried behind walls and floors and ceilings. For the architects, it was important to root the home in a contextual purpose and pay homage to its rich history and surroundings.

It’s hardly surprising, then, that the home looks like it could have popped out of Pompeii. All of 36 square metres, it’s a little time capsule that takes you back to a past life. The minimalist approach, say the architects, was guided by the home’s small dimensions and the peculiarity of the walls, where 15th- and 19th-century frescoes take centre stage.

In an effort to let the home’s bones shine, the duo decided to give the walls pride of place. By the same token, a small wooden chamber, totally detached from the ceiling and walls, was built as a bijou bedroom, with a floor mattress and some shelves serving as the only real decor (because with walls so beautiful, who needs decor anyway?). “It defines its own hierarchy and path,” say Diego and Stefano of the space.

The living area, intimate in scale and signature, plays host to simple furniture: a pair of oak benches by Archiplan Studio flank adjacent walls and an extendable table and chair make for a pared-back breakfast perch. “The home is underpinned by simplicity and neutrality. Every piece of furniture is essential to the home,” say the architects, adding that only the kitchen was given an edgier material vocabulary in the way of gleaming brass laminate doors.

The home has little surprises around every corner: a monolithic sink stands sentinel in the washroom and the closet reminisces a breezy store display. The wall layers, meanwhile, allude to various bygone eras, that at once fit together and stand apart. “After all, time’s decay has its own value,” aver the architects.

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