Treviso, Italy: Rosa Rosae - an inn inside a windmill. When architect, Slivio Stefani and his teacher wife, Betti were looking for a house big enough to house an inn, they came across and fell in love with this windmill which dates back to 1570. Situated on two floors, they restructured it using recycled materials, keeping the windmill’s austere character, leaving walls bare to the brick and the floors and the beams untreated, creating a sparse minimal look. They decorated it using mostly antiques found on their travels to France and Morocco. The inn has five bedrooms and a restaurant that is open at weekends. The handsome couple entertain their paying guests in the restaurant as if in a private house. The atmosphere is very suggestive and romantic, all the dinning rooms are lit by candlelight and drinks with antipasti are served at 8.30 pm before going to table for an abundant and delicous repast.
Rosa Rosae: Via Molino 1 – San Bartolomeo di Breda di Piave - Treviso. Tel: + 39 0422 686626.
The Hostess. The attractive hostess, Betti stands in front of a painting of herself, painted by her architect husband, Silvio Stefani and given to her as a present when she graduated from university.
Detail: one of the guest rooms. One of the five guest rooms of the inn. All the rooms are sparse and minimal.
Note: the zinc bathtub is French 19th Century, the marble washstand and the double bed are Tuscan, early 20th century. The electrical wire is exposed and the light bulbs hang bare with no shades.
The Flowers. The property is called Rosa Rosae, homage to the rose that is planted all over the property. I wonder if Betti’s love of roses was picked up from her travels to Marrakech where roses are in abundance from the nearby Dades Valley in the Atlas Mountains, A.K.A. the Valley of the Roses?
The Kitchen. The kitchen is old fashioned, yet highly functional. It is here that three cooks prepare the delicious food served on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The abundant menu is inspired by local cuisine and made with the freshest and in season ingredients. Guests are asked to arrive at 8.30 pm for drinks and antipasti in the candlelit and suggestive rooms of the inn before sitting down to tastings of three first courses, two second courses and then helping themselves to desserts from the buffet table.
Note: the long marble table has a small round brass sink at the end, also note how cleverly the space is used by storing the lids of the pots and pans on its side.
Detail: a dresser. The scene looks as if it was styled for a photo shoot, but is completely spontaneous. Pewter servers and rough hand carved pear wood cutting boards sit on a rustic dresser next to pumpkins and lemons.
Detail: a table setting. A long table stretches by the side of the actual mechanics of the wheel of the windmill. The setting is simple and austere: a pewter server is used in lieu of place mats or tablecloth. A minimal white Tognana china plate and plain cotton napkin together with a pewter stemmed wine glass and an etched water glass, which reads ‘Eau’, sit on the plain planks of the rectangular dinning table.
The main dinning room. The gigantic stone fireplace dominates the main dinning room. The big round bleached oak table comes from the Belgian design company; WR Collection. The "RAR" rocking chairs were designed in 1950 by Charles and Ray Eames and are produced by Vitra, they lend a playful touch to the room.
The vineyards: Behind the windmill, Cabernet vineyards produce all the wine for the restaurant.
