An Adventure

Building in Italy

A Refuge in the Karst

Italy boasts more bureaucratic red tape than most countries. Even lawyers find it hard to machete their way through the jungle of statutes, meaning that a building project can easily turn into quite the odyssey. Which was indeed the case with Residenza Hollmann. The terraces back then were very much as they are today – since the building code requires you to stay within the parameters of the existing footprint. The only way out of the conundrum: go deep, dig down into the soil. That said, in the Karst region the term “soil” might well be overly generous. The steepness of the terrain, the narrow access road – all genuine challenges, both financially and emotionally. Though as is often the case when confronted with tough challenges: the end result was more than ample reward for all the effort invested. However, for the most part that effort isn’t readily apparent to the eyes of today’s excited guests… precisely how it should be. “la dolce vita” is the motto of this magical place after all.