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Hospitality
L&L Luce&Light
Former Convent of San Panfilo
Former Convent
of San Panfilo
Spoltore, near Pescara, dates back to the Middle Ages, its centre
standing on a hill that dominates the entire surrounding area. Located
between the Abruzzo hills and the sea, this sleepy-looking little town
is steeped in history, art and culture. The former Convent of San
Panfilo is one of its treasures. It was built by the Benedictines in the
11th century as a monastery and remained as such until 1866, when
it was secularized, along with many other ecclesiastical properties.
The structure underwent a major metamorphosis in the 15th century,
when the Franciscans altered the monastery’s appearance according
to the stylistic dictates of the period. They enriched it with numerous
Baroque-style decorations and transformed the interior layout into
the current one with three wings and a central cloister. The building
was purchased by the Cerulli Irelli family in 1892, officially becoming
a private residence in 1912.
Restoration work on the entire complex, entrusted to the architects
Armillotta, Palmieri and Santomauro of CASaAssociati, returned
the building to its former glory and made it suitable for tourism,
agritourism and accommodation activities. The work respected the
complex’s history and existing architecture: the original structures
have been preserved and new areas created that blend seamlessly
with the old. The objective of the restoration was to avoid any
damage to the architectural and artistic heritage while giving the
building all the necessary functional aspects required by the client.
As for the lighting design, the aim in the internal area – the cloister
demarcated by the Convent and the church – was to highlight
certain architectural features, such as the groin vaults, the bays
and the capitals, while keeping the frescoed walls unaltered and
unobstructed. Ella Out outdoor wall lights were therefore used.
Facing upwards, they do not directly project light onto the vaults
and frescoes but illuminate them uniformly with reflected light while
also giving a certain rhythm to the space. The typical colour of the
building’s bricks is echoed in the red-brown of the fixtures’ cor-ten
finish, helping them to blend in perfectly with the architecture and
the context. In the cloister‘s inner perimeter, Ginko 2.0 projectors,
with 11° narrow optics, positioned beneath the mullioned windows,
provide ambient lighting, while other Ginko 3.0 projectors, with 30°
optics, placed in the four corners of the cloister, produce a direct
light that illuminates the central element, the well.
Many more projectors are installed in the cellar. These are Spot
2.4 fixtures, 3000K, 58°, with an anthracite finish, chosen for their
resistance to corrosion, which makes them suitable for use in damp
environments. They are directed at the vaulted brick ceilings and
create a warm, diffuse light that adds height to the environment
and welcomes visitors to the tasting sessions. To light the portico
overlooking the garden, two types of Geko outdoor wall-mounted
fixtures were installed on the columns. On the exterior of the
portico, Geko 5.1 single-beam fixtures, with 10° narrow optics,
point downwards, enhancing the columns’ length; inside, Geko
6.0 double-beam fixtures, with diffuse light, draw attention to the
ceiling’s slightly rounded forms. The Geko wall- mounted fixtures’
cor-ten finish, shared with the Ella Out fixtures installed in the
cloister, ensures that the fixtures blend in with the architecture to
create a uniform look across all the surfaces.
Location
Spoltore, Pescara, Italy
Project
arch. Carmela Palmieri,
studio CASa Associati
Ella Out 2.0
power: 16W
optics: diffuse
colour temp.: 3000K
finish: cor-ten
Spot 2.4
power: 8W
optics: 58°
colour temp.: 3000K
finish: anthracite
