Gae Aulenti's Amalfi Villa

We'll give up our bias here upfront and just mention that we think Gae Aulenti is just about as talented as they come. As a product designer, furniture designer, architect and more. Just an absolute queen.


Her villa design from the 70s is deeply inspirational for a few reasons. It's, of course, a masterpiece of design full stop. Beyond that, there are a few surprises. The locale is one of them. Not that the Amalfi coast isn't stunning or a perfectly obvious location for a vacation home but it does feel at odds to the deeply metropolitan and Milan-centric vibe Gae's work and ethos gives off. Kinda like seeing the Crocodile Dundee in a tux — it looks good but something feels askew. It's humanizing to thing of her, feet up with a spritz in hand, relaxing on any of these outdoor spaces that, while beautiful, are a dime a many dozen on this stretch of Italian coast line.

Then we turn inward. Those huge, natural stone studded archway windows are where Milan meets the Tyrrhenian. Her trademark style slowly reveals itself more and more until we make it to the shelter of a natural grotto, offering a refuge so unmistakably Gae, that the inside of this home feels akin to the innermost parts of the designer herself.