The 'Smallest House in Italy' Is Architecturally Stunning
By Melissa Stanger, Business Insider
Imagine living a hair's breadth away from all the most romantic, historic sights of Rome. Now imagine doing it in 75 square feet.
Architect and designer Marco Pierazzi saw the potential in an abandoned, one-room alleyway house just steps from Roman landmarks like the Pantheon and Saint Peter's Square. He bought it, fixed it up, and lived there with his wife until their child was born. Pierazzi now rents what he calls the "smallest house in Italy" to friends, acquaintances, and tourists, making it a convenient place to stay on a Roman holiday.
The tiny house sits in an alley around the corner from Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Square, right in the middle of Rome.
The tiny house sits in an alley around the corner from Castel Sant'Angelo and St. Peter's Square, right in the middle of Rome.
The house had been abandoned for many years before Pierazzi discovered the place on sale and bought it in 2010.
Formerly property of the Abbey of St. Peter in Chains, it looked like an HGTV nightmare. Mold and rot invaded the wooden beams. Plaster fell in chunks from the walls. It was in shambles.
Pierazzi fixed it up and made it livable. The home was built sometime in the 1700s, he tells us, and may have been used as a one-room residence in the 1930s, but had been largely out of commission until 2010.
"Rome was different then," he says. "[Those were] the days when it was enough for the poor [to have] a bed, a stove, and [a place for] washing." But Pierazzi proved that it's still possible to live minimally today.
The house, which covers all of 75 square feet, is less than an armspan wide and 13 feet long. After Pierazzi and his wife had a child, they starting renting out the space to friends and acquaintances.
The little house has a full kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, a small lofted sofa bed, and an LED TV with Hi-Fi sound system.
The table, which seats 3-4 people, drops down from the wall so it doesn't block the staircase.
A trapdoor leads up to the lofted bedroom area...
...and can be refitted so you don't accidentally fall through in the middle of the night.
The bedroom doubles as a living room. You'll find shelf space and an LED TV mounted to the wall.
It's actually quite cozy, with shelving and lots of light.
The bathroom is cleaner and homier than any bathroom you'll find in a hotel.
And the kitchen is neatly organized and fully stocked. Anyone can easily enjoy a vacation here.
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