Prata Sannita is a sleepy medieval town 180 km south of Rome, complete with a romantic panorama of crumbling hillside constructions overlooking the Lete River. A new hotel housed in an old medieval bastion hopes to put the town back on the map. For an undisclosed sum, you can even spend the night stargazing atop the town’s sloping urbanscape! More after the jump!

The town’s population, which numbers fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, is predominantly older, with most of the youth migrating to the larger vibrant urban centers of the capital to the north and Naples to the south. Yet the town, which is divided into the medieval and “contemporary”–a term which in Italy equates to the turn-of-the-century–districts, the Prata Inferiore and the Prata Superiore, respectively, has experienced success with integrating different building typologies and strategies within the city’s urban framework. The Prata Superiore, particularly, has undergone significant and successful urban developments. How to revitalize, but still preserve the medieval city while contributing to Prata Sannita’s general prosperity?

The Million Donkey Hotel is part of an initiative launched to create job and tourism opportunities in Prata Sannita. Designed by Austrian firm feld72, the small (150-square meters!) hotel offers four rooms, each offering a chance to experience medieval living. But only one room allows you to doze off in slumber while suspended over the town’s clay-tiled rooftops below. If the room’s gloomy concrete floor slabs and dampness of the stone enclaves get you down, just roll the bed out the window and take in the light and view.

by Samuel Medina

posted in New Projects Uncategorized

tagged europe, Hotel, italy, medieval town

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