The relaxed pace of the lake, the flourishing nature, a work of contemporary architecture in tune with the genius loci: the resort-treasure chest created by Daniela Fantini at Pella d’Orta

Casa Fantini is the result of a passion for the genius loci, for everything that is genuine and made by hand. It represents the culture of the place of my roots, where I can have a deep emotional experience, in the total ‘lake time’ spirit, at the slow pace suggested by the mystical aura of the lake and its silence.”

These are the words of Daniela Fantini, CEO of Fantini Rubinetti, speaking of Casa Fantini/lake time, the recently opened 5-star boutique hotel composed of two buildings facing the lake – one from the past, which once contained the hotel Il pesce d’oro, and a new construction – for a total of nine rooms and two suites (62 square meters each), at Pello, in the province of Novara, on Lake Orta.

Daniela Fantini has a firm bond with this territory, its culture and its family values, still going strong. When she isn’t roaming the world, she likes to spend her time right here. After all, it is no coincidence that the so-called Idyll of Orta (1882)  between Lou Andreas-Salomé and Friedrich Nietzsche, blossomed here, during walks by the lake or on the nearby Sacred Mount.

The designer of Casa Fantini, Piero Lissoni, has made a sensitive interpretation of the local spirit, designing “soft, airy spaces where it is pleasant to linger, listen to music, read, meditate, chat, getting lost in the magnificent view… Everything has been carefully and discreetly arranged, ‘incorporated’ to convey an atmosphere of serenity for guests, so they can feel right at home.”

The typical local stone and Accoya wood are the main ingredients, and the wooden facade planks, with their refendino cutting (a revived traditional type of workmanship), have made it possible not to clad the building, but to tailor a garment for it that blends perfectly into the surrounding landscape.

Samuel Lorenzi, a partner of Lissoni Architettura, even talks about an ‘indoor-outdoor’ situation without boundaries, since the lush lakeside vegetation almost enters the place, also thanks to sliding glass doors on the ground floor.

Another focal point of Casa Fantini/lake time is a sort of internal ‘greenhouse’ created in an open zone of the lounge, a place filled with natural light offering fine views of the greenery outside.

In the formulation of this hotel-treasure chest, the goal of the owner has been first of all to bring out the value of the charming lakeside site – also the location of Fantini Rubinetti – while at the same time generating a forceful identity; Casa Fantini, in fact, is like a compendium of the company’s finest products, gathered in an ideal permanent exhibition.

Project: LISSONI ARCHITETTURA