阿西堡的A12号住宅丨意大利丨Salvatore Puleo

Casa A12 stands on a hill above Aci Castello, Italy, where exposed concrete lines meet rough lava stone. Designed by Salvatore Puleo as a contemporary house, the project replaces an old rural building with a residence that commands views of the coast, the Acitrezza stacks, and Mount Etna. It reads as both lookout and dwelling, grounded in the volcanic terrain around it.

Light catches the sharp edges of lava stone while smooth concrete planes stay cool in the hillside air. From the crest of the Catania hills, the house looks outward in every direction.

This is a house, but it also functions as a precise vantage point, set above Aci Castello in eastern Sicily and drawn by architect Salvatore Puleo. Material contrast drives the project, as exposed concrete, mixed masonry, and glass replace most of an old rural structure that once served both as dwelling and agricultural support.

Where the traditional farmhouse stood in mixed lava masonry, the new volume now rises in concrete, with blocks of stone stitched into the structure to recall the original fabric. The approach favors the material story: rough volcanic rock, dense concrete walls, and the shimmer of glazing cutting openings toward the sea, the Acitrezza stacks, and Mount Etna.

Concrete Shell And Stone

The main body of the house is cast in exposed concrete, inside and out, creating a continuous shell that holds living areas and bedrooms. Within this shell, walls in stone blocks interrupt the gray surfaces, their irregular joints and sharp edges giving a tactile counterpart to the smooth formwork pattern. Between these solid elements, large glass panes open long cuts in the envelope, so mass and transparency alternate across the elevations.

Concrete reads as severe, while the lava stone carries a broken softness, and the combination generates a steady rhythm of full and void volumes. This rhythm does more than shape façades, since it organizes interior rooms and views, narrowing some outlooks toward specific landmarks and widening others to capture the full sweep of the coastline.

Roof Form On The Hill

Above the principal volume, a gabled roof revisits the traditional Sicilian pitch in a stripped-down way. The profile echoes the familiar rural silhouette, yet a continuous cladding ties roof and walls together with one material gesture. That continuity reinforces the reading of the house as a single carved mass, rather than a collection of separate parts.

From the hilltop, this strong outline underscores the building’s role as a marker in the landscape, set between the inland slopes and the long coastal line. It also frames the experience from inside, where the roof shape guides air and light along the upper rooms.

Courtyard And Entry Patio

In plan, the house traces a C-shaped footprint that holds an internal patio at its center. Entry takes place through this protected court, a nod to older Sicilian manor houses that turned life around an inner yard. Greenery pushes into the patio, softening the concrete surfaces and giving certain rooms a close, planted view before the eye runs outward to the sea.

Several living areas look directly onto this court, so domestic routines remain tied to the quiet heart of the house. The patio also helps calibrate exposure on the hill, shielding entry and circulation from wind while still catching light that bounces off the pale concrete walls.

Landscape, Well, And Pool

On the north side, an existing well is preserved and folded into the new composition, locking an element from the former rural life into the contemporary structure. Around the base of the building, local plant species thicken the junction between architecture and ground, so the hilltop reads as cultivated rather than raw.

Toward the west, the house partially buries into the terrain to form a garage level, letting earth anchor the concrete mass. On a more sheltered garden edge, a pool with a small beach zone and an infinity edge aligns with a lava stone wall. Water, stone, and concrete work together here, concentrating the project’s material story in one compact outdoor room.

As day falls, the concrete dims, the lava blocks hold their texture, and the glazed cuts become brighter than the walls. From this height above Aci Castello, the house keeps its steady stance while the coast, sea stacks, and distant Etna shift in color with the light.