ELRE
Made in Italy, Chosen by an Architect
Elite Luxury Real Estate was founded and is led by an Italian architect: Made in Italy materials, design and places read through the design culture of a studio that has designed and directed villas since 2002.
Made in Italy, chosen by an architect: why this page
Elite Luxury Real Estate was founded and is led by an Italian architect. Properties are selected by our Real Estate team; Italian materials, design and craftsmanship are read through the design culture of a studio that has designed and directed villas since 2002. Architecture, wellness, wine and places become one coherent way of living, and Made in Italy stops being a label and becomes work again.
This page explains what we mean by genuine Made in Italy, how we recognise it, in which fields we look for it and, above all, where you can see it: in the villas designed and directed by the studio, with the names of the Italian companies that work in them. Every brand we mention has been checked on its official website; when a component of those villas is not Italian, we say so.
We also explain who does what, because clear roles are part of the method: the founder guarantees the criteria, the Real Estate team handles the properties, and the architecture studio works under its clients’ own engagements.
Why an architect, not an agency
A portal shows listings. An agency presents properties. Elite Luxury Real Estate reads materials, design, wellness and places through the eyes of a studio that has designed and directed villas since 2002, and presents properties according to its method. The result is not a list of Italian products, but a selection shaped around a way of living.
The difference lies in what you look at. Someone selling a property looks at location, size, price and photos. Someone designing a villa also looks at how light enters during the hours when rooms are used, how materials age, where services run and how they are reached, what it costs to maintain a finish after ten summers. These questions never appear in a listing, and they are the ones that decide whether a house stays beautiful.
The same is true of Made in Italy. A famous brand does not guarantee that a product will work in that house, in that climate, with that use. The right choice comes from the relationship between architecture, material and daily life: it is the work the studio does every day on its own building sites, and it is the criterion we use to write our selections.
| What | How Elite Luxury Real Estate works |
|---|---|
| What we look at | Design, light, materials, building services, maintenance, climate and context, as well as location and price. |
| Who chooses | Properties: the Real Estate team, with the method guaranteed by the founder. Made in Italy materials, brands and places: the editorial team, with the studio’s criteria. |
| How we disclose relationships | When a commercial relationship exists we state it on the page; the brands we mention link to their official websites. |
About
Founder and Real Estate team
Made in Italy
Chosen by an architect
The method
How we read a property
Signature Architecture
Designing a villa with the studio
The Villa Edit
Italian materials and brands
Luxury Living
Watches, yachts, wine, mobility
Contact
Write to us
Made in Italy and The Villa Edit: the rule and the selection
This page is the rule: it explains what we mean by genuine Made in Italy and how we verify it. The Villa Edit is the selection: twelve guides, one for each system of the villa, with the performance to ask for, the brands we consider, the mistakes to avoid and the studio’s projects where we have seen them at work. We do not repeat here what is in the guides: from each category below you go straight to the matching guide.
| Where | It answers | What you find |
|---|---|---|
| Made in Italy (this page) | What is genuinely Made in Italy, and why trust us? | Criteria, districts, exclusions, the proof in the studio’s villas, the roles. |
| The Villa Edit | What do I choose, system by system? | Twelve guides: performance to ask for, brands considered, mistakes to avoid, studio projects. |
| The request | How do I get to the right choice for my villa? | A private introduction from the Contact page, with the studio or the Real Estate team. Today the selection is editorial: any supply service will be presented on a dedicated page, stating who provides it and how they are paid. |
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Genuine Made in Italy, beyond the best-known brands
Made in Italy is not a label. It is a culture of detail: production districts, manufacturers, craftsmanship, materials, know-how and the ability to endure. We promise no percentages or generic certifications: we choose companies with documented production or design in Italy, which we can understand, verify and place within a real project.
This is why we do not use the phrase «Italian style». A sofa designed in Italy and made elsewhere, a stone quarried abroad and sold under an Italian name, a historic brand that now produces far from its district: these cases are common, and none of them is enough to make Made in Italy in the sense we mean.
Five criteria to recognise genuine Made in Italy
- Production or design documented in Italy. We check it on the company’s official website: headquarters, factory, statements on production. If we cannot find it, the brand does not enter the Made in Italy selection.
- A recognisable district. Made in Italy comes from precise places: Brianza for furniture, kitchens between Veneto and Friuli, pietra serena from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Knowing the district means knowing who works well and why.
- Craftsmanship, not just design. A product is worth the way it is made: joints, thicknesses, finishes, tolerances. These are details an architect sees on site and a photograph does not show.
- Performance in the climate. A finish that lasts thirty years in Verona may suffer from Caribbean salt air or the heat of Dubai. The right Made in Italy is the one that withstands the place where it is installed.
- Long-term service. Spare parts, maintenance, the brand’s presence in the country where the villa stands. An excellent product without service becomes a problem at the first repair.
These criteria apply to the brands, materials and experiences we present in the Elite Luxury Real Estate guides. They are the same ones the studio applies when choosing the components of a villa with its own clients.
Esplora i nostri progetti
Metra glazing, Viabizzuno and OTY Light lighting, infinity pool: designed and directed by the studio.
Where the Made in Italy we know comes from: the districts
The Made in Italy we know best is the one the studio uses in its projects, and it has a precise geography. Describing it shows that behind a name there is a territory, with its own skills.
- Brianza and the Como area, furniture. Baxter and Paola Lenti work in Meda; Desalto in Cantù; Poliform, with its kitchen brand Varenna, in Brianza, as does Rimadesio, which keeps production at its headquarters.
- Between Veneto and Friuli, kitchens. Minimal Cucine is based in San Fior, in the province of Treviso; Modulnova in Prata di Pordenone, where the Presotto family has made furniture since 1949.
- The bathroom. Agape, in Mantua, states that its range is made entirely in Italy; Noorth was born in Castelfranco Veneto, in the province of Treviso; Gessi claims the Made in Italy of its taps and fittings.
- Light and controls. Viabizzuno is based in Bentivoglio, near Bologna; OTY Light in Scorzè, in the province of Venice. Ekinex KNX switch plates and controls are developed and produced in Vaprio d’Agogna, in the province of Novara.
- Windows and glazing. Metra extrudes aluminium in its Italian plants, with headquarters in Rodengo Saiano, in the province of Brescia; PURA Sistemi is the brand of Fasal Serramenti of Eraclea, in the province of Venice.
- Stone. Casone Group works pietra serena and sandstone in Firenzuola, in the Apennines between Florence and Bologna.
- Outdoor. Talenti has its headquarters in Amelia, Umbria; Paola Lenti, in Meda, built its story on outdoor living; Edra produces its sofas in Perignano, in the province of Pisa.
Beyond the home, Made in Italy has other districts our guides describe: the Motor Valley of Emilia for cars, the shipyards of Liguria, Tuscany and the Lombard lakes, and the wine areas from the Langhe to Montalcino and Valpolicella, a few kilometres from the studio.
How an architect reads a Made in Italy product
In front of a product, the name matters less than the answers to a few practical questions. They are the ones the studio asks itself when choosing the components of a villa with its clients, and the ones we use to write the Made in Italy guides.
- Where and how is it made? Headquarters, factory, supply chain of materials. Made in Italy declared on the website, with a precise place, is a starting point; a generic «Italian design» is not.
- How is it installed? A window, a stone worktop, a bespoke kitchen need trained fitters, measurements taken on site and realistic delivery times. An excellent product badly installed is a mediocre product.
- How does it age? Wood darkens or fades, stone absorbs, metal changes colour, fabric fades in the sun. Some changes are beautiful, others are not: you need to know in advance.
- How is it cleaned and maintained? A surface that needs special products or frequent treatment costs more over time than at purchase. The best Made in Italy is often the one that asks for the least care.
- Who repairs it, and where? Spare parts, technicians, dealers in the country where the villa stands. For a home abroad, this is the question that weighs most.
None of these questions has an answer valid forever: it depends on the house, the climate and the people who live there. This is why our guides explain criteria before names, and leave technical details and prices, which change, to the brands.
A short Made in Italy glossary for the home
Some words come up often when talking about Italian materials and finishes. Knowing them helps you read a quotation, talk to a supplier and understand what you are buying.
- Pietra serena. A grey sandstone from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, used in Tuscan architecture for centuries. Casone Group quarries and works it in Firenzuola. It is compact and warm to the eye, but like any sandstone it must be chosen and protected according to use.
- Honed, bush-hammered, grooved finish. Ways of treating the surface of stone: smooth and matt, rough and non-slip, marked by hand. They change the look, the grip underfoot and the cleaning.
- Extruded aluminium. A window profile is made by pushing hot aluminium through a die. Metra does it in its Italian plants: it is the basis of slim, strong glazing.
- Thermal break. An insulating barrier inside the metal profile that separates the warm side from the cold one. In a hot climate like Dubai it matters as much as in a Veneto winter.
- Solid wood and veneer. Solid wood is wood through and through; veneer is a thin layer of fine wood on a substrate. Both make sense: it depends on use, size and humidity.
- Colour temperature of light. Measured in kelvin: warm light for living areas in the evening, more neutral where you work. Italian companies such as Viabizzuno and OTY Light treat light as part of the architecture, not as a hanging object.
- Bespoke. It does not necessarily mean handmade: it means designed for that space. Many Made in Italy kitchens and furnishings are made this way, within an industrial system able to adapt to the project.
The full glossary of materials is in the pages of The Villa Edit, where every entry has photos of the studio’s projects.
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One eye, seven fields of Made in Italy
Elite Luxury Real Estate brings together worlds that usually stay separate: the property, the design, the interiors, wellness, wine, travel and mobility. For us they are the same question seen from seven sides: how to live well in a house, and what in Made in Italy makes that life better. Each field has its own page; here we explain what we choose and why it matters.
1. Architecture and villas
The first Made in Italy is the design. A contemporary Italian villa is not recognised by the brands it contains, but by how it sits in its place: orientation, the relationship between inside and outside, proportions, natural light, a limited number of materials used consistently. It is the language of the studio, which designs minimalist villas in Veneto and on Lake Garda.
Anyone who wants to build a villa with the studio will find the process in Signature Architecture; anyone assessing an existing property will find in the method the three checks we make before every decision.
Esplora i nostri progetti
Minimal Cucine kitchen with Modulnova island, Poliform, Rimadesio, Desalto and Baxter furniture, Talenti and Paola Lenti outdoor.
2. Materials and craftsmanship
Stone, wood, metal, glass, plaster. The Made in Italy of materials is made of quarries, sawmills, workshops and installers: skills you cannot buy from a catalogue. A pietra serena from Firenzuola, a hand-finished slab, a window in aluminium extruded in Italy each have a history and a behaviour over time that must be understood before choosing them.
The pages of The Villa Edit on natural stone and windows go into detail, with photos of the studio’s projects.
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3. Interiors and design
Kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, furniture, outdoor. This is the field where Made in Italy is best known worldwide, and precisely for this reason the hardest to choose well: there are many names, and the differences lie in the details. The criterion is consistency with the architecture: a beautiful piece in the wrong place is still a mistake.
In The Villa Edit guides we describe kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, furniture and outdoor, starting from the Italian brands the studio has chosen for its villas.
4. Wellness and longevity
Contemporary luxury increasingly coincides with quality of life: sleeping well, breathing clean air, having natural light, a wellness area close to the bedroom. These are design choices before product choices, and the Made in Italy of wellness includes companies that design saunas, steam rooms and water spaces with a very Italian culture of the body.
The longevity home explains the principles; the Home spa page goes into the details of sauna, cold water and relaxation area, with Italian brands placed first when quality is equal.
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5. Wine and cellars
Wine is perhaps the Made in Italy most closely tied to its land: a grape, a hill, a climate, a family. For anyone living in a villa, the cellar is also a design matter: constant temperature, humidity, light, space for ageing and for entertaining. Our guides describe the regions, the criteria for building a collection and how to design a cellar at home.
The Fine Wine & Cellars page starts from the Italian regions and arrives at the private cellar.
6. Travel and places
Made in Italy is also a way of travelling: places where architecture, landscape and food tell the same story. Our guide to luxury villas in Tuscany is an example: not a list of hotels, but a reading of places through the eyes of someone who designs.
Our experience travel guides also describe the foreign markets where we work, because for anyone considering a home far away, the trip is also the first site visit.
Esplora i nostri progetti
Edra sofas, Varenna kitchen, Noorth and Agape bathrooms: a project by the studio.
7. Yachting, cars and watches
Beyond the walls of the house, Made in Italy continues: the shipyards, the Motor Valley of Emilia, fine jewellery. These are objects handed down and services that must be reliable. The Luxury Living pages on yachts, private mobility and watches and jewellery follow the same criterion: when quality is equal, those who design and produce in Italy come first.
The house matters here too: a garage for collector cars, a safe, a jetty are decided in the floor plan, not afterwards.
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What to check, category by category
The name of a Made in Italy brand opens a conversation; it does not close it. For each category there are practical checks worth making before ordering: the same ones the studio asks suppliers on its own sites. We collect them here as a reminder for buyers and those designing a home.
Kitchen
A high-end Made in Italy kitchen is judged by its ergonomics before its image: worktop heights, drawer depths, space between island and tall units, position of the pantry. Ask how finishes are repaired if scratched, how long hinges and runners last, who installs and who services it afterwards. In a villa with household staff, it is worth planning a second, hidden technical kitchen next to the show kitchen.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Luxury kitchens.
Sofas and living room
Seat depth and height, removable and washable fabrics, light resistance near the glazing, availability of covers over the years. A Made in Italy sofa lasts decades if it can be re-covered: ask straight away. A living room also works better with a few well-proportioned pieces than with many objects.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Luxury furniture.
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Bathroom and taps
Access to drains and traps for maintenance, waterproofing of level-access showers, ventilation, hardness of the local water. Quality Italian taps have spare parts for many years, but this must be checked for the country where the villa stands. Wall-hung units and continuous surfaces make cleaning easier.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Luxury bathroom.
Stone and surfaces
Absorption, slip resistance when wet, resistance to oil, wine and limescale stains, thickness, finish. Natural stone changes from one block to another: for a villa it is worth seeing the slabs before cutting and keeping some material aside for repairs. In the most stressed areas, a technical surface can sit alongside the stone without taking character from the house.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Natural stone, Porcelain tiles.
Lighting
Colour rendering, glare, dimming, colour temperature, replaceability of LEDs and drivers. The best Made in Italy lighting is the one you do not notice: it enhances materials and architecture without disturbing the eye. It must be designed together with ceilings and furniture, not added at the end.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Designer lighting.
Windows and glazing
Thermal and acoustic insulation, sun protection in relation to orientation, air and water tightness, wind resistance, corrosion protection near the sea. The whole system matters, not just the profile: glass, frame, installation, shading. Large sliding glazing also needs clean tracks and regular maintenance.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Luxury windows.
Esplora i nostri progetti
Villas with pools under construction, PURA Sistemi windows: a project by the studio.
Home automation and building services
Building services are the part of the villa you do not see and that decides everyday comfort: clean air, even temperature, silence, consumption. Here the criterion is verified performance before origin: for the Pool Villas in Colognola, for example, the studio chose a Nilan system, from a Danish company, which combines heat-recovery ventilation and an air-to-air heat pump in a single unit. Ask for real consumption, noise levels, filters and their replacement, technical space and service.
Controls are part of the architecture too. For light and scene switch plates the studio specifies Ekinex, a company that develops and produces KNX home automation devices in Italy: minimal plates in few materials and colours that blend with walls and surfaces instead of interrupting them. A contemporary villa has dozens of them: choosing them well changes the perception of every room.
A villa management system must also work without an internet connection, with simple controls for those who live there and those who look after it. Ask about compatibility between brands, updates, cyber security and the presence of technicians in the country. Fewer scenes, well made, are worth more than a hundred functions nobody uses.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Home automation and security, Energy, air and water.
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Outdoor and pools
Resistance to sunlight, salt air, humidity and wind; replaceable fabrics and cushions; structures that do not overheat in the sun. Made in Italy outdoor furniture, like the Talenti and Paola Lenti pieces the studio chose for MD Home, must be designed for the local climate: in Dubai and the Caribbean conditions are much harsher than on Lake Garda.
Guide and selection in The Villa Edit: Pools and garden.
Wellness
A compact, well-used wellness area is worth more than lots of idle equipment. Sauna and steam room need ventilation, acoustic insulation, drains and a dedicated electrical supply; cold water needs space and maintenance. The Home spa page explains how to size it and where to place it in relation to the bedroom and the pool.
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What we do not select
Our exclusions define our standard. We do not choose «Made in Italy» as mere imagery. We do not propose solutions that photograph well but lack substance. We do not confuse recognition with quality, or exclusivity with value.
Our selection follows one simple question: does it withstand an architect’s scrutiny? Being Italian, well-known or exclusive is not enough: we look at design coherence, genuine quality, context and long-term durability.
- We do not choose Italian brands by name alone. If production or design is not documented in Italy, the product does not enter the Made in Italy selection, even if the name sounds Italian.
- We do not propose materials out of place. A porous stone near salt water, a light wood in full sun, a metal that oxidises: the right Made in Italy depends on the place.
- We do not choose objects without space. A sauna, a cellar, a professional kitchen need services and floor area: if the design does not provide for them, the most beautiful product becomes a problem.
- We do not publish prices that change. Brands publish prices on their own websites: what interests us is the selection criterion, which does not change.
This filter concerns the Made in Italy selections: brands, materials, experiences. For properties, the method of the Real Estate team applies: each home is presented by saying what is documented and what still needs checking.
The proof: Made in Italy in our villas
The proof is not a claim: it is our villas. In the studio’s projects, Italian materials, components and brands become part of one architectural system: light, surfaces, interiors, wellness and the relationship with the landscape. Below are the Italian companies that work in them, with the places they come from.
To be fair, we also tell you the rest: these villas also contain non-Italian components, chosen when they were the best solution for that house. Our criterion is quality, and when quality is equal, Made in Italy comes first.
AV Home, Dueville (Vicenza)
A minimalist villa with an infinity pool, designed and directed by the studio. The large glazing is by Metra, which extrudes aluminium in Italy with headquarters in Rodengo Saiano, near Brescia. The ground-floor lighting is by Viabizzuno, a company from Bentivoglio, near Bologna; the lighting on the bedroom floor is by OTY Light, from Scorzè, near Venice.
It shows how the Made in Italy of light and windows works together: the glazing brings the garden inside, and artificial light redraws the spaces in the evening without showing itself. The villa is among the properties of Elite Luxury Real Estate.
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MD Home, Verona
In MD Home, Made in Italy lives above all in the interiors. The kitchen is by Minimal Cucine, from San Fior, with a Modulnova island, from Prata di Pordenone, with a wooden top; Modulnova also designed the bathrooms, with Gessi taps in the entrance bathroom. In the living room the sofa is by Poliform, the side tables by Rimadesio and Desalto, and the dining table and chairs by Baxter.
Outside, under the portico, the furniture is by Talenti and Paola Lenti. The glazing, the pendant light and the interior wood come instead from German and Austrian companies, chosen for those components: we say so because transparency applies to our own houses too. The villa is presented on its property page.
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SD Home, Soave (Verona)
SD Home shows the Made in Italy of furniture and bathrooms. The living room sofas are by Edra, made in Perignano, Tuscany; the kitchen is Varenna, Poliform’s kitchen brand; Rimadesio pieces complete the interiors. In the bathrooms work Noorth, from Castelfranco Veneto, and Agape, from Mantua, which makes its range entirely in Italy.
It is a villa where Made in Italy is barely seen and strongly felt: calm surfaces, natural materials, objects that do not ask for attention but hold it over time.
Pool Villas, Colognola ai Colli, and Lugana Bay
On the Pool Villas building site in Colognola ai Colli, near Verona, the windows are by PURA Sistemi, the brand of Fasal Serramenti of Eraclea: large sliding glazing facing the pools. At Lugana Bay, on Lake Garda, the glazing is again by Metra.
For the building services of the Pool Villas the studio chose Nilan, a Danish company specialising in ventilation and heat pumps: a single compact unit for heat-recovery mechanical ventilation and for air-based heating and cooling, without underfloor panels. It is not Made in Italy, and we say so: in that system it was the most efficient solution and the simplest to maintain.
Following a building site means seeing Made in Italy before it is photographed: how a window arrives, how it is installed, how long it takes, how it is adjusted. It is this experience, repeated project after project, that makes a selection credible.
Italy in your home abroad
Many of our clients buy outside Italy: in Dubai, the Caribbean, Zanzibar. They often want to bring a part of Made in Italy with them: a kitchen, a light, a stone, a way of designing spaces. It is possible, but it needs more care than in Italy.
The climate changes the rules: the heat and sand of Dubai, the salt air and humidity of the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean test finishes, metals, woods and building services. Logistics, delivery times and service also change: a brand present in the country, with spare parts and technicians, is worth more than one that must be served from Italy.
To design Italian interiors in a villa abroad you can engage the architecture studio, under a separate engagement for design and site direction. For local permits, as in every country, a technician licensed on site is required. Materials and brands are chosen first, on the drawings, not when the house is finished.
The Made in Italy archive: how the selection grows
Behind the guides there is a working archive that the studio and the editorial team update project after project: a database of Made in Italy companies for the home, organised by field and category, from construction to interiors, from technology to wellness and outdoor.
Each company enters the archive with a few essential facts, the ones needed to decide: headquarters and place of production checked on the official website, with the date of the check; category and main products; the climates where it performs best, from Lake Garda to the Dubai desert and the tropical sea of the Caribbean and Zanzibar; the level of maintenance it requires; comparable Italian alternatives; the studio projects where it has been used.
Two rules keep the archive serious. First: a company enters the public selections only after its Made in Italy has been verified, not because it is famous. Second: the archive is editorial, not commercial. We do not publish prices or paid rankings, and a brand’s presence in the guides does not depend on agreements with the brand.
The pages of The Villa Edit are the public part of this work: each category, from kitchens to windows, presents Made in Italy brands with the criteria described here and with photos of the studio’s projects.
Made in Italy for buyers in Dubai
Dubai is the market where the demand for Made in Italy surprises us most. Many buyers, European and otherwise, buy a new villa or residence and want to personalise it: kitchen, bathrooms, lighting, furniture, outdoor. Italian taste is a reference; the difficulty is making it work in a very different climate.
In summer, Dubai is intensely hot for months, air conditioning runs almost constantly, sand gets everywhere and the sun is strong on terraces and pools. This changes the choices: glazing that performs well against heat, outdoor fabrics resistant to light, surfaces that are easy to clean, building services accessible for maintenance.
Before buying we recommend reading our guide to buying off-plan property in Dubai, with ten checks to make before signing, the one on luxury villas in Dubai and the one on Dubai villa prices, built on sales registered by the Dubai Land Department. Properties in Dubai are handled by Tatiana Juma, of the Real Estate team.
In Dubai, Made in Italy comes in mainly after the purchase: in the interiors, the lighting, the outdoor spaces. Thinking about it early lets you choose a house with the right spaces to host it.
Made in Italy in the Caribbean and Zanzibar
In the Dominican Republic and Zanzibar, homes live by the sea all year round. Salt air, humidity, heavy rain in some seasons and strong sun test metals, woods, fabrics and building services far more than in Italy. Here the right Made in Italy is the one designed for the outdoors and the sea: hardware and metals suited to the marine environment, woods and fabrics treated for humidity, surfaces that do not retain salt.
Distance matters too: a delivery from Italy takes weeks, and a missing spare part can stop a building site. This is why, in these markets, we choose Made in Italy with an eye on local service and ease of maintenance, and accept local solutions when they suit the place better.
In the Dominican Republic, properties are handled by Luca Lodi, who has worked there since 2010. To get to know the places before a visit, our travel guides to the Dominican Republic and Zanzibar explain where to go, where to stay and how to get around.
The most common mistakes with Made in Italy
Over many years of building sites, the studio has seen the same mistakes repeated when Made in Italy is chosen without a design. We list them because they are easy to avoid if you know them in advance.
- Choosing the brand before the space. You fall in love with a kitchen or a sofa and then look for a place to put it. The right order is the opposite: first the space, then the object that completes it.
- Putting too many materials together. Every Italian material is beautiful on its own; many together create confusion. The villas that age best use few materials, repeated consistently.
- Copying an image without its climate. A terrace seen in a magazine on Lake Como does not work the same way in Dubai or the Caribbean. Made in Italy must be adapted to the place, not transplanted.
- Adding later what should have been planned first. Sauna, cellar, integrated lighting, motorised blinds: adding them to a finished house costs more and shows.
- Forgetting service. Especially abroad, a product without nearby technicians and spare parts becomes a problem at the first maintenance.
Each of these mistakes has a simple solution: decide early, on the drawings, with someone who knows both architecture and Made in Italy.
Made in Italy for buyers in Italy
For anyone buying a villa in Italy, Made in Italy is close at hand. From Lake Garda to Brianza, from Veneto to Tuscany, furniture, lighting, stone and window companies are often a few hours’ drive away, with showrooms where you can see materials and samples in person.
It is an advantage worth using: seeing a stone in natural light, touching a fabric, opening a kitchen drawer tells you more than any catalogue. And it is easier to coordinate deliveries, installation and service when suppliers and site are close.
The villas for sale on Elite Luxury Real Estate include studio projects such as AV Home and MD Home, where Made in Italy is already in the details. For those looking in Tuscany, our guide to luxury villas in Tuscany describes the places with the same eye as this page.
Who does what
Federico Cappellina is the founder and guarantor of the method. The Real Estate team selects properties. The studio provides design, architecture and construction management under a separate engagement. Commercial relationships, where they exist, are disclosed: for example, Elite Luxury Real Estate works with DAMAC as an agent, and we state it wherever we present its projects.
- The founder defines the criteria with which we read homes, materials and places, and guarantees their standards. He is an architect: his studio has designed and directed villas since 2002.
- The Real Estate team handles properties in the markets: Luca Lodi in the Dominican Republic, where he has worked since 2010, and Tatiana Juma in Dubai. Visits, relationships with sellers and developers, negotiations are their work.
- The architecture studio works for its own clients, under its own engagements: villa design, interiors, site direction. It is an activity separate from property brokerage.
- The editorial team writes the Made in Italy guides: The Villa Edit, Luxury Living, Longevity, Travel. The brands we mention link to their official websites; affiliate links, where present, are disclosed.
This division is not bureaucracy: it is what lets a client always know who is advising them on what, and why. To meet the people, the About page introduces the founder and the team.
How to use Made in Italy when choosing a home
For anyone buying or building a villa, Made in Italy is not a wish list to add at the end: it is a series of choices best made early. Here is the order we suggest, the same one the studio follows with its clients.
- First the place and the house. Exposure, climate, view, access: these are the conditions that decide which materials and solutions will work. The right Made in Italy for Lake Garda is not the same for Dubai.
- Then the spaces. Kitchen, wellness area, cellar, garage, terraces for entertaining: they are decided in the floor plan. Every field of Made in Italy you care about needs space and services.
- Then the materials. Few, consistent, suited to the climate. This is where the Made in Italy of stone, wood and windows makes the most lasting difference.
- Finally furniture and objects. Kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, sofas, outdoor: chosen to belong in that house, not to be photographed.
Anyone assessing a property can bring us the listing or the dossier: the Real Estate team replies with the points to check. Anyone designing a home can bring their choices to the first meeting with the studio of Federico Cappellina.
Frequently asked questions about Made in Italy
What do you mean by genuine Made in Italy?
Companies with production or design documented in Italy, checked on their official website: headquarters, factories, statements on production. An Italian name or a style reminiscent of Italy is not enough.
Does Elite Luxury Real Estate sell the brands it mentions?
Not today: the selection is editorial, and we mention the brands with a link to their official websites. If we launch a supply service we will present it on a dedicated page, stating who provides it and how they are paid; on the projects of the studio’s clients no fee comes from suppliers. We leave prices to the brands, because they change often.
Who selects the properties for sale?
The Real Estate team: Luca Lodi in the Dominican Republic, where he has worked since 2010, and Tatiana Juma in Dubai, with the Elite Luxury Real Estate method. Commercial relationships are disclosed on the project pages.
Can I have Made in Italy interiors in a villa abroad?
Yes, with a separate engagement of the architecture studio for design and site direction. Local permits require a technician licensed in the country. It is best to choose materials and brands on the drawings, taking into account the climate and the service available locally.
Why do your villas also contain non-Italian brands?
Because the criterion is quality for that house. When quality is equal we choose Made in Italy; when a foreign component is the best solution, we use it and say so.
How do you check that a brand is Made in Italy?
We read the company’s official website: registered office, factories, pages on production and history. If production or design in Italy is not documented, the brand does not enter the selection, even if it is well known.
Does Made in Italy always cost more?
Not necessarily. It depends on the product, the craftsmanship and how long it lasts. A choice that needs less maintenance and withstands the climate can cost less over the years than one that is cheaper to buy. We leave prices to the brands, because they change.
I am an Italian company: how can I be considered?
By sending a note to The Villa Edit editorial team from the Contact page. It is an editorial assessment with the criteria described here: we neither request nor sign commercial agreements to appear in the guides.
Request a private introduction
Tell us about your project, property or area of interest. We will respond with the same care we apply to every selection.
- Buyers and investors: the Real Estate team, for the market you are interested in.
- Developers, builders and hospitality: the architecture studio, for design, interiors and wellness.
- Italian companies: The Villa Edit editorial team, for an editorial assessment.
Write to us from the Contact page saying who you are: your request will reach the right person.
Designing a villa?
Materials and brands are chosen on the drawings.
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Made in Italy, chosen by an architect: Elite Luxury Real Estate.