Igloos, mushrooms, gnome homes or smurf houses, whatever you call them, these little dwellings are certainly different.

Built on Via Lepanto in Milan in 1946, they were engineered by Mario Cavallè, who bought the style and construction technique over from America. The homes on the left, which were mostly demolished in 1965 by Cavallè's nephew to make way for blocks of flats, consist of a ground floor and basement.

The two-storey home on the right was painted orange with white spots to increase its toadstool-like appearance.

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21 rare archive images of strange homes around the world