Matera, Italy
Casa Materia
Casa Materia
Ariostea covers the interiors of this appealing architecture: a unique material dialogue marked by contemporaneity and comfort.
Products
The Sassi di Matera are one of Italys most iconic and attractive historical and cultural treasures, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. Built from calcarenitic rock, they bear witness to human evolution since the Palaeolithic period.
The Sassi di Matera are one of Italys most iconic and attractive historical and cultural treasures, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. Built from calcarenitic rock, they bear witness to human evolution since the Palaeolithic period.
The expression of a long, complex process of settlements which has developed over many centuries, its archaic beauty creates a unique landscape that is famous worldwide. In the vast mosaic that makes up the city centre, we find Casa MATERiA, a private residence which, at the same time, is a small bedbreakfast for experience-based tourism and a creative atelier with a gallery displaying works of art and design objects.
Located in Via Casalnuovo, in the area running into the ancient Rione Sassi, until 2017 it was an old, abandoned lamione – one of the many typical houses built entirely from tufo stone. Completely redeveloped on a design by its owner Michele Barberio, the brain behind the architecture and design firm XYZ Factory, today it is a meeting space, the result of a specific project built around human and cultural as much as architectural values.
The name Casa MATERiA not only plays on words linked to the city of Matera, but also underlines the idea of home to the concept of material, describing the particular and inextricable bond that, in this city, binds humans to the tufo stone.
Simple, basic materials including tufo, stone, wood, metal and glass are used throughout the building.
Simple, basic materials including tufo, stone, wood, metal and glass are used throughout the building.
After the soft shades of the calcarenite stone covering the impressive barrel vault come the pale, smooth colours of the walls and geometrically shaped furnishings, combined with the minimal lines of the metal structures.
The whole interior design of the home was created and made to measure by Michele Barberio: self-production is the key to this very special experience, in which a single person held the positions of client, designer and builder.
The rooms and en-suite facilities, furnished with close attention to detail, were designed to offer maximum comfort, with a warm, welcoming appeal. Blending contemporary living needs with a very natural design, the porcelain stoneware surfaces chosen for the floors and wall coverings are by Ariostea, a Brand of the Iris Ceramica Group.
The Teknostone collection – in colour Taupe, size 300×100 cm blends perfectly with the interiors, thanks to the texture that recalls the off-shaded, neutral hues of natural stone. This was used in some of the guest rooms, in the bathrooms and the common areas used for recreational and cultural occasions.
Teknostone easily blends in with the wealth of personalities living in Casa MATERiA, bringing all the quality and practicality of Ariostea technical ceramics.
This material ensures resistance to thermal shock and wear, while being waterproof, durable and easy to maintain.
A particularly functional solution in collective and hospitality contexts, it is non-toxic and easy to sanitise, to ensure safe, healthy spaces for people.
At Casa MATERiA, the Ariostea Teknostone ceramic surfaces combine the expressiveness and appeal of natural stone with the high technical performance of porcelain stoneware, becoming a link between the specific aesthetic features of age-old architecture and contemporary living needs.
