Antonioni’s Seaside Villa


In the 1960s, Antonioni commissioned Dante Bini to create a unique Sardinia villa, based on the original “Binishell” concept. La cupola was built by inflating a balloon underneath raw concrete, shaping it into a self-supporting half-sphere. The director was an active collaborator and infused the project with rich imagination. He invented details like slab stairs, intensifying the sound of the waves and aroma from the cliffs and plants. The filmmaker scripted Zabriskie Point and The Passenger in this house, which also welcomed Monica Vitti, Enrica Fico, Tonino Guerra and Andrei Tarkovsky.

Architectuul: La Cupola

The New York Times: The House That Love Built — Before It Was Gone

Change.org: Petition to restore La Cupola

Photo: Romain Courtemanche

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