A new lease of life for the home of the sweets favoured by Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour

The former Pastiglie Leone factory dates back to the early 20th century: indeed, Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, was fond of flavoured Leone gummy sweets even before he instigated the Unification of Italy.

The elegant Art Nouveau building has been repurposed so that the 1400 square meters of the former factory and villa, which belonged to the Monero family, house flats and lofts from 2020. The project was developed by the Torchio&Daghero company, the Vairano architectural firm, Andrea Fracardo and architects Giulia Ceccarelli and Emanuele Zaniboni.

Many of the flats feature Ceramica Faetano’s porcelain stoneware cement tiles from the LONDON collection, used for the floors in both the living areas and the bathrooms. A series that translates the appeal of traditional decorated cement tiles into a contemporary language. This is the vintage mood of the 20x20 cm cement tiles which, in this project, have been freely combined with other sizes, including very large and very different formats, enhancing their decorative potential. Original graphic designs in which floral patterns and geometric motifs are perfectly harmonised with the Art Nouveau style of the complex, evoking the elegance and allure associated with the Pastiglie Leone brand, with its ‘portable’ sweets, which at the start of the 20th century found their way into ladies’ handbags and gentlemen’s pockets, offering an Art Nouveau delight that could be displayed in society.

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