PARADISE FOUND

Luxury design house Paolo Moschino transformed four acres of inhospitable Portofino mountainside into a unique pleasure garden

- JACKY HOBBS

Portofino is a picturesque fishing village where property and land are precious. While Paolo Moschino's partner, co-owner, and studio design director Philip Vergeylen was able to creatively redesign the interior of his client's house, the limited outdoor space proved more restrictive. The rare opportunity to buy a rugged, steeply sloping tract of the nearby mountainside was irresistible to the client. Tempted by the prospect of a huge outdoor arena with spaces for entertaining and showcasing artefacts from his collection, he secured the land, and Philip was briefed to extend his skills beyond interiors - 'to create the best garden in the Mediterranean'.

The lure of an expanse of overgrown land with unrivalled sea views in such a desirable location outshone the monumental development issues and limited site access: A pedestrian gate off Portofino's cobbled Piazzetta, then tunnels 200m through rock to an 1950s elevator, which lifts you 100m upwards, to reach the unexpected "garden", explains Philip. Undaunted, he devised a plan.