All the shades of artisanal interior design

Giorgio Vasari was inspired by the symbol of Florence, Brunelleschi’s Dome, when building the wonderful roof covering the Basilica della Madonna dell’Umiltà (Our Lady of Humility) in Pistoia. This twin to the Florentine masterpiece, towers over a see of red roofs and stands out among the richness of Pistoia architectural heritage and the interesting museums that too often go unnoticed: the fourteenth-century Palace of the Elders, the bell tower, punctuated by its large mullioned windows and its black and white marble structure, the City Museum of Medieval and Modern Art and the Embroidery Museum.

Against this backdrop, the legacy of the ancient genius and a rare attitude to turn raw matter into something beautiful, have been preserved. The artisans of Pistoia contribute to give a soul to common spaces, to home interiors, to the places of everyday life, as in the raku ceramics artifacts combined with other materials created by the Arizoe workshop.

In Alessandro Cappellini’s restoration laboratory, the ancient wooden furniture is reborn:  wall mirrors, doors and  frames are enriched by small ornamental details capable to give an original touch to every single object.

In the gestures of these artisans,  the circularity of a precious tradition is repeated; a tradition, however, that is not weighed down by  the weight of the centuries, but that, on the contrary, continues to grow thanks to constant creative contributions and renewals of style.

Maria Cristina Palandri’s furnishings collection, the third stop on our itinerary, seems to stem out of her interior world. Dreamlike and surreal images become sculpures, paintings, artistic ceramics that have no longer just a primary function, but that are capable to cause emotions at first sight, like her little terracotta sculpure-houses. Suspended, elusive atmospheres inspired by a childhood purity and the symbols of a primordial nature. In Giovanni Maffucci’s creative space, devoted to artistic experimentation, furnishings made of artistic ceramic and inspired by nature and natural elements, take shape.

Using different techniques like the mosaic, the glass-work and especially ceramics, Mariagioia Maffucci creates unique jewels, very peculiar bijoux in virtue of their shapes and colors.

The technique of “intaglio” (carving) finds its highest expression in Marco Silvestri’s workshop that offers especially precious objects, like his pens created using woods with a thousand different veins and nuances.

All this and much more you will find in an itinerary studied to its smallest details to give you all the shades of art. Please see all the details below.