Find your paradise in the Algarve

Madelon Kunst, the marketing manager with Algarve real estate specialists, Neubersch Mediação Imobiliaria (Richard Neubersch), gives PropertyIndex.com the lowdown on Quinta Alegria – a seemingly traditional farmhouse with plenty of surprises...

Etched in heavy grey limestone, the words ‘The Paradise is in your Soul’ decorate the huge table stood in the covered terrace of this memorable property in the hills, north of Tavira, in the Algarve. Yet perhaps the etching would better read ‘you’ve found paradise’, such are the qualities of Quinta Alegria, a seemingly traditional farmhouse with plenty of surprises.

With its extensive plot of some 20,000m2, enclosed with traditional stone walls, Quinta Alegria certainly has room to hide a surprise or two, with any preconceptions soon laid to waste on closer inspection. The main house is a prime example of this ambiguity.

Outside, the Quinta is entirely convincing in its rural façade, with detailing so typical of the region’s architecture, right down to the ox-blood paintwork, with hints of other influences noticeable in stone cladding on certain, selected walls, the interior of this building is wholly unexpected.

Freed of ceilings, the interior rises up to its double height, fully uninhibited in its path up to exposed timber beams of alarming proportions. The rural edge of the exterior falls by the wayside, with a stark, modern interior, where clean lines and whitewashed walls are joined by local limestone, in varying shades of grey, used not only in the flooring but also to dramatic effect in shelving systems around the whole house.

In fact, it seems that the owners, and the Hamburg-based architect they chose to design this property, were determined to put pay to clichés and expectations, stunning visitors with a unique mix of quirky, modernist design features, producing a cooling, spacious urban setting, not dissimilar to a contemporary art museum, in utter contrast to the warm, Mediterranean atmosphere outside.

This too was an immediate draw for the owners – the setting’s incredible magnetic appeal. When they first visited the site, they were physically overwhelmed by the energy they could feel here. This energy, if not felt, can at least be imagined when you study the makeup of the landscape in which the Quinta stands.

A rolling terrain, littered with ancient trees of all stature and personality. One majestic olive tree, with its trunk wrenched apart with the trials of time, dominates a quiet area of the gardens, its branches spilling youthfully down, despite the scientific enquiries made as to its age estimating over 1300 years.

This fascination for earthly energies can be seen throughout the grounds, flowing along water features, winding through gravel paths, revealing with every turn a hidden retreat to rest the body and mind. Places of contemplation are aplenty, such as the elevated timber platform over a pond teeming with carp; covered terraces overlooking the fields tumbling down to the Atlantic Ocean; and comfortable seating areas serenaded by the sound of water trickling from antique carved fountains.

From the calming atmosphere within – where natural materials mimic the outside world, reducing nature to the very simplest elements, and blending it with modern comforts, conveniences and technologies – to the rich cornucopia of life outside, captured, enhanced and subtly moulded, Quinta Alegria becomes the perfect compromise. For here is a place where modernity meets nature and embraces it, disguising itself in a classic form, bowing down to the majesty of these surroundings, this paradise for the soul.

Click here to read more about Quinta Alegria.

Information provided by Neubersch Mediação Imobiliaria (Richard Neubersch); real estate experts specialising in the sale of exclusive properties, projects and developments in the Algarve.

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Last Updated: 06 February 2008