17 Dec A Cafe in Verona, Italy Reveals Color, History, and Art – Meet the Architect and Interior Designer Mario Santini

Architecture, art, interior design, and history in Italy are beyond inspiring. All you have to do is walk down a side street and everywhere you turn there is something new to discover and appreciate. Some of you know that last June my husband David and I lived in Italy for 5 weeks in an apartment in Vicenza.  Afterward, I took a long hiatus from blogging, but finally, my Italy photos are organized enough to start anew.  I’ve been dying to share with you one design in particular that enthralled me, by the Italian architect and interior designer Mario Santini. Get inspired this holiday season with the colors and textures he chose to restore the charming Cafe Carducci in Verona, Italy. Learn what characterizes the world of design in Italy from Mr. Santini’s perspective and the four tips he has for young interior designers and architects.

Cafe Carducci

My husband David and I only spent two days in Verona, Italy which was a mere 20-minute train trip from our apartment in Vicenza.  We were on our way to the magnificent Gardino Giusti when we stopped for a Cappuccino at the historic Cafe Carducci in Verona. Originally called Osteria Carducci, the Cafe was founded in 1928 by the great-grandfather Guglielmo. Years later, the great-grandson, Pier Stefano Bianconi and his wife Benedetta have run the cafe since 1999. In 2012, the cafe was completely restored by architect and interior designer Mario Santini of Studio Mario Santini, and since 2017 has been a member of Locali Association Historians of Italy. Still family-owned, Cafe Carducci is now more than a coffee bar, it is a delicatessen, cheese shop, and kitchen serving delicious food, but more importantly, it is an experience steeped in history. Please read more about it HERE. 

 

 

A house is like a photographic book that encloses the journey of a life, filled with objects that recall travels, loves, emotions, colors, scents and experiences, under the right light, creating a unique and welcoming atmosphere. – Mario Santini

 

Mr. Santini’s quote above pretty much sums up exactly how I felt and experienced upon entering Cafe Carducci. My mouth fell open in awe and I was not only welcomed but captivated by the interior design. I was enveloped with an experience of a lifetime, an atmosphere full of color, texture, light, history, and purpose.  I couldn’t have been happier to discover this cafe and my husband David (below) understood why. I must give a little shoutout to my dear friend Rose Trasatti who told me “When you go to Verona, you must see Cafe Carducci.”  I immediately knew I had to seek out whoever designed this magnificent space!

 

 

Italian Architecture and Interior Design

 

Italian architect and interior designer, Mario Santini. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

 

Please meet the Italian architect and interior designer Mario Santini of Studio Mario Santini who restored and designed Cafe Carducci.  Born in 1962, Mr. Santini’s life and design work, through his many travels and experiences, is steeped in history and culture. Because of his incredible attention to detail, one can immediately identify Mr. Santini’s projects, as they have become the “point of reference for Italian lifestyle” not only in Verona, but far beyond. He has studied extensively the German “Wunderkammern”, the Italian “Wonder Rooms” of the 16th-18th century, designing more than 70 spaces in Verona alone.

Mr. Santini was kind enough to allow me to interview him for this post so I could share his breadth of knowledge and magnificent interior design with you.

Interview with Mario Santini

 

PG: Please briefly share a little background about yourself and your work. How did you get started and why did you choose these fields?

Mario Santini:  Son of an industrialist in the chemical sector, I immediately understood that my path would have been different and I enrolled in the faculty of architecture in the 80s.  During my university years, I attended professional studios, and as soon as I graduated I started with the opening of the “Santini Life Style” studio. I immediately felt the need to design interiors to my taste, creating a real identity brand.

 

At Carducci you can breathe the history of Italy, it is not just a food and wine journey. – Mario Santini, architect/designer of Cafe Carducci

 

Wall lanterns at Cafe Carducci. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini

 

PG: You have a wide variety of projects from residences and restaurants to boutiques.  What drew you to restoring Cafe Carducci and what inspired you to select the colors and materials you chose for this project? Please share more detail about the history behind this project.

Mario Santini:  I recognized in Stefano Bianconi, owner of the “Cafè Carducci”, a great passion and professionalism in the work he loved.  His only big mistake, was in his youth, to change the furniture of the historic café, with an aseptic, cold, impersonal, albeit modern furniture.  I accompanied him in the recovery of the historic furnishings, lamps, and recovering the entire original collection of objects, photographs, and books that tell the story of the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci, an important frequenter of the place, writings jealously collected by Stefano’s grandfather.  At the Cafè Carducci, there is an original manuscript by Carducci, written to Garibaldi on the occasion of a battle won.  At Carducci you can breathe the history of Italy, it is not just a food and wine journey.

 

 

PG: Your design style is defined on your website as “Neoclassicism with a touch of ’50’s, ’60’s, and ’70’s”. Please share more about your style and what brings the history of these eras into your projects.

Mario Santini:  At the Faculty of Architecture in Parma, within the interior design degree course, they held lessons on my style, defined as “Post Classical Style”.  I love the recovery of history, then making the project more modern, adding influences from the 50s – 70s that have significantly characterized the world of design in Italy and abroad.

Bar with two different wallpapers at Cafe Carducci. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

Each house must reflect the history and life of those who live there. – Mario Santini

 

PG: Your design philosophy is stated as “A house is a photographic book that encloses the journey of a life, full of objects that bring to mind travels, loves, emotions, colours…”. Can you please expand on this and what it means to you and your design work?

 

Mario Santini: I don’t like the modern, aseptic style, where every added object risks being bulky and ruining the harmony of the project itself;  this is very far from my philosophy, which vice versa allows you to enrich a home with different objects from different worlds and cultures, creating an emotional journey through memories.  Each house must reflect the history and life of those who live there.

Detail of books and wine at Cafe Carducci. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

 

PG: What excites me about your design for Cafe Carducci is your incredible use of color and texture down to every detail.  Please explain how you balance an obvious passion for these design details while keeping it true to the history of the building you’re working on.  

Mario Santini: I love mixing fabrics and wallpapers from different companies and different styles.  The objects recovered in the antique markets are all particular objects that could be placed in a “Room of Wonders”.. to make Cafe Carducci a modern Wunderkammern to tell it like the nobles of the 19th century loved to excite their guests returning from travels around the world.

Sketch of custom lamp design by Mario Santini for Cafe Carducci. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

 

PG: Do you have any particular new projects you’re working on that you can share with us? What about these projects excites you and why? 

Mario Santini:  Today the Studio is working on many projects, but I am very concentrated on one in particular, the renovation with the interior design of a country house in the Veronese country house “Cà del Pea”, with a restaurant which, thanks to the ability and skill of the owners’ children, will become an important reference in the world of “Michelin Stars”

 

Interior design sketches by Mario Santini. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

 

PG: Interior designers get inspiration from all over –  nature, history, art, and traveling. What sets your emotions afire and what tips do you have for young architects and interior designers starting out?

Mario Santini: I can only say to the young architects who take up the profession to travel with the curiosity of a child, to let oneself be carried away by emotions, not to sit on a stereotyped life plan, one of oversimplification and overgeneralisation.  From the principle that nothing is created and everything is reinvented, do not stop and limit yourself to the most banal “copy-paste”.

Please Enjoy Additional photos

 

The Secret Door

 

The Restored Ceiling with Modern Crystal Chandelier

 

The Main Room in Cafe Carducci with Historical Stairway

The famous staircase at Cafe Carducci. Photo courtesy of Studio Mario Santini.

 

The Italian Toilette

 

Italian Art on Wallpaper of Books

 

It’s been an honor to interview the renowned Italian architect and interior designer Mario Santini. When we visited Cafe Carducci, I didn’t want to leave because there were so many details to admire.  Now that I’ve learned of Mr. Santini’ss perspective and the story behind his complete restoration of Cafe Carducci, I can’t wait to go back to discover additional details, particularly the manuscripts by the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci. Next time, since the cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., I’m going to linger all day with breakfast, lunch, Aperativo time, and wine with dinner!

I’ll close now with how to learn more about Mr. Santini, his projects, and the historic Cafe Carducci. But first, a summary of advice from Mario Santini for young and new designers entering the fields of architecture and interior design. To be honest, I think this advice holds true for life!

4 Tips from Mario Santini for New Architects and Interior Designers

 

1. “Travel with the curiosity of a child”,
2. “Let oneself be carried away by emotions.”
3. “Do not sit on a stereotyped life plan, one of oversimplification or overgeneralization.”
4. “Do not limit yourself to the most banal, cut and paste design, for nothing is created, everything is reinvented.”

 

Below, please visit Mr. Santini’s website to learn more about his design philosophy and multiple projects. And the website of the historical cafe Carducci Cafe and how to get there when you visit Verona.

Studio Mario Santini

Mario Santini LifestyleFacebook

Instagram

Cafe Carducci

Cafe Carducci Facebook

Cafe Carducci Instagram

 

 

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This is the final post for 2022 and the first of hopefully more to come about Italian art, architecture, and design from our travels.  Wishing you and your families a safe and very happy holiday season. Cheers to a fantastic 2023!

Ciao! XO PG

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All photos and opinions are my own, except the photography noted and the interview. A special thank you to Mario Santini for taking the time to share his wisdom with our readers and some of his photos and sketches.