Iconic design in an eighteenth century property

In an eighteenth century property, a wonderful refurbished apartment which radiates charm and successfully brings together its period setting with modern designer furniture. The apartment had been completely altered over the years, however it found its true identity thanks an extensive refurbishment by its new owners and architect Antonella Celeschi. Ready for this new chapter in their lives, a retired public prosecutor who’s also a great lover of literature and philosophy, and a lawyer with an extraordinary aesthetic sensitivity, immediately fell in love with this building in the historic centre of Pesaro, central Italy.

Pesaro is a historic town on the Adriatic coastline between Rimini and Ancona. Pesaro is Gioachino Rossini’s birthplace, and the town holds a festival each year to celebrate this illustrious composer. The home, where He who wrote the famous Barber of Seville spent his childhood (left-hand side image, at the time the building was only two stories high), is now a small super-technological museum. Impossible to miss, it’s in via Rossini!

When our owners came across this apartment the entire building was undergoing renovation. Antonella Celeschi was the person in charge of the whole refurbishment, and since they connected right away, our couple trusted her with remodeling their future home. Working together they conceived an interior, which loves history and its splendors, as well as embracing the best in modern furniture, which is a real key player here. From timeless pieces like Thonet chairs placed in front of the fireplace, to great modern classics by Mies van de Rohe, Eero Saarinen and Frank Lloyd Wright, to contemporary designs by Achille Castiglioni, Antonio Citterio, Patricia Urquiola and Borek Sipek.

SFOGLIA LA GALLERY

The new layout is actually a “found” spatial arrangement. The magnificent camorcanna vaults redefine the space, camorcanna is an ancient ceiling technique which uses rods and plaster. The vaults were partly restored and partly rebuilt, and a new heating and air conditioning system was put in. Freed from partitions built through the years, they now articulate the succession of rooms, typical of the eighteenth century. The herringbone parquet flooring with border inlay (by Tavar, supplied by Giusto Gostoli) gives unity to the space, plus it’s similar to no other than the palace of Versailles.

This enchanting environment is a practical modern home, as well as a welcoming space for the many friends who are happy to visit. However, it’s unbelievable to see what it looked like before: totally unrecognizable. Nothing remained of its age-old elegance and splendour. Fortunately, we are now witnessing a new sensitivity towards the past and we cannot but be grateful to the architect and the owners who have brought back to life a small part of Italian historical heritage.