Art activates the spaces of Lombardy’s historic Palazzo Beccaguti Cavriani – restored as a vast holiday home and gallery by architect Massimo Ghisi and Vanna Bernadelli.

The manse in Mantua, Lombardy, dates back to the 1530s and was acquired by the duo in 2001 when they began renovating it as their studio and home. Ghisi set about reinstating the classical building’s symmetry, stripping out later additions and transforming its spaces into gallery-like rooms for the couple’s collection of art and design objects.

A central courtyard is the heart of the Italian holiday home – available to rent from €5,500 per week via Holiday Architecture – and its bricked arches have been opened and filled with steel-framed windows. This open-air space hosts periodic sculptural installations and performances.

Back inside the villa, painted frescoes, stuccoes and vaults have been restored in reception rooms and the five bedrooms.

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