Made in Mysore
For De Marchi, Villa Vani’s strongest sense of place resides in the hands that made it. Mysore’s artistic history, shaped by Wodeyar patronage, temple traditions and generations of skilled artisans, offered a living vocabulary for the project. Local furniture makers, woodworkers and craftspeople became participants in the villa’s new chapter.
There is a fitting coda to the renovation. Once the work was complete, the villa’s original architect, now in his eighties, returned to see the house he had designed decades earlier. “Seeing his genuine delight at how his creation had been reimagined and restored was one of the most rewarding moments of this journey,” De Marchi adds.