Under the roof of the house of Gioachino Rossini, author of The Barber of Seville
Jan 12, 2018
In a restored 18th-century mansion in the centre of Pesaro, Italy, there are amazing apartments that combine the charm of antiquity with modern furnishings and author's design.
Pesaro is an ancient city on the Italian Adriatic coast which is well known for its architectural and historical monuments. Beautiful palaces, ancient temples, narrow streets and low houses, flowerbeds and green alleys, along with wide beaches and modern hotels, all contribute to the city's current appearance. However, there is one place in this extravagant kaleidoscope of beauty that interests us - the unique mansion where the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, the Barber of Seville, was born and grew up. This is the place where the architect Antonella Celeschi chose to redesign the mansion.
The interior is exceptional and original, and Antonella has created it for her new owners: the husband is a great lover of philosophy and literature, a retired prosecutor in the past, and the wife is a lawyer with a deep understanding of aesthetics and a keen sense of beauty.
Once in the living room, we note the elaborately decorated ceiling, the magnificent fireplace and the cast-iron columns. And among this ancient beauty there is modern furniture from the leading Italian furniture factories. In front of the fireplace there is an armchair and a pouffe from Fjord collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola for her favourite Moroso brand. A soft and comfortable armchair with a high backrest adapts to the natural curves of the human body, leading to complete relaxation and rest. The armchair is one of the designer's favourite pieces. "Its contours are reminiscent of mountains, fjords. - Patricia Urquiola comments. - Fjords are low mountains with frequent and deep crevasses. I wanted to use this metaphor, so the chair is very sculptural and comfortable. But if you sit in it like in a normal armchair, with a straight back, it is uncomfortable. You have to find an asymmetric position for comfort - leaning on the backrest on the side! The armchair has only one armrest, and this determines the way you use it - a new, more relaxed and at the same time inviting way of using it.
The Apollonio blown glass chandelier, designed by Borek Sipek for Driade, hangs over the armchair like a cloud of bubbles.
Opposite a book-filled shelf, on the opposite side of the fireplace, is an extraordinary trio of sofas. Different in construction, style and reflection of the eras, the three stunning models are in perfect harmony.
Of course, it's easy to spot the iconic furnishings in this extraordinary project. The first is the 606 Barrel di Frank Lloyd Wright chair in the home office: the model has been produced from 1937 to the present day by the Italian company Cassina. And also an invariable attribute of many modern interiors - the Arco floor lamp suggested by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Italian brand Flos back in 1962 and since then invariably gaining wide interest and love. And of course the Thonet bent Viennese chairs - in particular the model 209, which has been successfully manufactured since 1900.
New Studio is a representative of the furniture brands Moroso, Cassina, Flos and Thonet in Belarus.
