Zero energy balance (ZEB) is an essential and paramount topic in building design. The paper addresses this important research area with special regard to the Mediterranean climate. To deal with ZEB in architecture, a final design proposal for a new housing development in the peri-urban context of Tricase - a town located in the south of Italy - is presented and used for energy investigation. With reference to this pilot case study, the paper highlights that high performing and zero energy balance buildings cannot be reached by technology alone, but by the search for an integrated design combining passive tools (high thermal mass brick wall structures - as an evolution of the traditional stone construction of the region, high reflective materials, solar shading devices, ventilation strategies, etc.) with solar and wind energy micro-generation. Results show that zero energy balance and zero local CO2 emission houses in the Mediterranean climate present high levels of feasibility, which can be simply achieved by energy-efficient solutions using local materials and traditional construction processes, thus resulting into high quality performing buildings within recognisable urban environments. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.