We inherited a farmhouse from the 1960s in the province of Mantua and we want to transform it into a modern home while keeping its original character. I'm wondering what structural elements we can't touch and how to manage inserting contemporary comforts without ruining the traditional look.
I agree with whoever answered you before about the solid brick walls, but there's one practical thing that makes a big difference: if it's original brickwork, before any project get a local surveyor to do a thermal and moisture mapping. The Mantuan farmhouses from the '60s often have capillary rising damp that you can't see with the naked eye, and touching the walls without dealing with this first means you'll do worse damage. Once you know how the structure is actually doing, you can then decide where it's best to intervene without turning it into a construction site that lasts years.
For the modern comfort side of things, what works best is not thinking of insulation as a one-size-fits-all solution. People try adding external polystyrene and end up with a farmhouse that looks like it's wrapped in plastic. Instead, if the walls are as thick as they should be, the secret is insulating in steps: first a well-ventilated air gap on the outside, then maybe a light insulating layer in natural fibers, and keep at least the first brick layer visible. It lets you have warm homes without losing the building's identity.
Modern systems and utilities (heating, electricity, plumbing) can go inside the walls because nobody sees them, so you have total freedom there. Where not to touch: the wooden floors (if you still have them) and the roof beam system, unless there's a structural review. It's better to let old and new coexist than to blend everything together, maybe by leaving one brick wall visible somewhere just to say "this is where we come from."
the 1960s aren't exactly when Mantuan farmhouses are at peak historical charm, so let's say you have more freedom than you might think. what really matters is the load-bearing masonry structure (bricks and old mortar), the foundation layout and if anything the original spaces of the internal distribution - those keep the farmhouse's character. for the rest you can move around: new systems can be hidden in the walls and attics, bathrooms and modern kitchens work fine if you do them with materials that fit the context without shouting (wood, terracotta, natural plaster), and you can change the windows as long as you respect the size and rhythm of the original openings. the advice is to contact a local surveyor who knows these buildings, don't rely too much on consultants coming from outside
Who told you the '60s have no value? It all depends on how your farmhouse is built. If it has solid brick walls (the thick ones, not concrete), wooden or masonry load-bearing structure, and those typical Mantuan features like porticoes or generous openings onto the courtyard, that's stuff worth preserving. The '60s aren't the 15th century, sure, but if the farmhouse is well-built, that original structure is what makes it stable and charming. What you can't do is tear down the load-bearing walls, even the ones that seem "in the way" to you - you need a structural engineer to read the structure before any internal demolition.
Where you actually have plenty of freedom is with the systems: you can run modern piping, air conditioning, radiant floor heating, whatever you want, as long as you don't knock down the main walls. The trick with modern comforts is to hide them. Instead of visible radiators, install radiant floor heating. The original fixtures have incredible charm but they insulate poorly, so you can replace them with well-made replicas (in wood, same proportions) that perform really well. For the interior spaces: if the large room still has a wooden ceiling or that brick vault, you keep it. If it's already been "touched" over the years, you have more freedom to intervene.
The real advice is to invest in a serious structural assessment before doing any work. Have an engineer look at it, maybe one specialized in restoration (even if you won't do proper restoration). It costs little and saves you expensive mistakes. Then, who cares what theory says - your farmhouse has its own specific story, and that's what's worth preserving.
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