Casa do Penedo, Portugal

© Olimpio Fantuz/eStock Phot

Info. Casa do Penedo in Portugal

This rock-solid house in the Fafe mountains of north-west Portugal is known locally as Casa do Penedo. Built as a holiday home in the 1970s, it is nestled between four boulders that serve as the foundation, walls and ceiling of the house, blending in as part of the beautiful natural landscape. Inside there are two floors containing a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedrooms. Many of the fittings, including furniture, stairs and handrails, are made of logs. There’s no electricity, but there is a stone fireplace and even a small outdoor swimming pool carved out of one of the rocks. The unusual building has attracted plenty of visitors over the years and so can no longer be used by the owners as a rural retreat. It now has bulletproof windows and a steel door to fend off vandals. Today it functions as a small museum with relics and photographs from the house’s history.