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Nicola Gallizia, can you please describe briefly how this project came about?
The first time I visited San Patrignano I was amazed. I thought I was coming to a rehab centre that helped young people to create a trade for themselves, but I was immediately confronted by a busy workshop of extraordinary craftsmen, designer and cooks with whom we established a fruitful relationship straight away. We suggested some ideas, received suggestions and proposals from them about the materials that could be used, and we reinterpreted some of their creations, sometimes in a different key, by adding various embellishments.
The new area chosen by the cooperative to act as a vehicle for the knowhow of San Patrignano has an old-fashioned feel to it, with beams on the ceiling and walls with old, exposed brickwork, which we chose to make the most of by painting the walls in white. At the heart of these surroundings there’s a pizzeria which we decided, together, not to furnish in a conventional way, but by exploiting the skills of these kids. So the furniture is their choice, as are the gold of the partition and the tables and chairs. The San Patrignano furniture, handcrafted items and the wine and food products are all of extremely high quality and have great appeal not just in Italy but also abroad (especially in France and in the United States where craftsmanship is very much appreciated).
There are two features that attract the attention of visitors when they come in: the fireplace and the oven, linked by the element of fire.
The fireplace is tiled with the brightness of Gold, from the Florim Rex collection. Gold leaf, an ancient type of decoration used for grouting and precious furnishings, is enhanced by two shiny glass slabs that contain it, protecting it and illuminating it.
The pizza oven - strictly wood-burning - has been lined with a material that has strongly symbolic overtones: lava stone. The red colours of the fire are thus contained in black, absorbent surroundings.
The pizzeria bathrooms hide lots of surprises behind the gold coloured screens decorated with some wonderful motifs and created by the young people of San Patrignano.
When you open the door, you find yourself in a gleaming box of gold glass mosaic (this comes from the Casamood Vetro Metalli collection), onto which we inserted mirrors decorated with gold leaf. There’s a play on the reflections of the light, with changing effects created by the handmade type of processing of the mosaics. It’s a material that feels rich to the touch and is reflected in large, Baroque mirrors. The impact of this space is really extraordinary. What surprised even ourselves was the fact that we obtained an effect of great warmth despite the fact that we used glass, a material that is by its very nature cold. Here it becomes a shiny skin, harking back to ancient mosaics in which the tiles were cut by hand, one by one.
How big was the area you had to deal with?
The area is around 300 sq. metres and there’s expected to be seating in the pizzeria-restaurant area for 80 people. About 150 sq. metres are devoted to the showroom where the furniture, textiles and agricultural and food products make a fine display.
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