Architect: Carmine Abate
Project manager: Vincenzo Genovese
Team: Mario Del Prete, Anna Del Piano
Construction: Pace Group – Vincenzo Celiento
Wallpaper: Cole & Son
Tiles: Ceramica Vogue
Seatings: Pedrali, custom made sofas
Photo credits: Carlo Oriente
The cafeteria, bistro and cocktail bar Il Santo in Afragola, in the province of Naples, is a “small” project but dense with references, put together with lightness of spirit. The frame is a building that is part of the St. Anthony’s Basilica complex, established in the 17th century and developed over time. The venue, designed by architect Carmine Abate, is organized in a sequence of spaces and punctuated by openings in the massive walls. These very openings become scenic elements that polarize attention through the use of tile coverings that create large fields of color or geometric patterns, while the floor is an optical expanse of diagonal bands.
The entrance hall welcomes the bar counter, clad in walnut panels. Behind it, the wall is punctuated by arches that stylistically suggest the architecture of a cloister, a clear reference to the historicity of the complex of which the building is a part.
From here, an enfilade of rooms unfolds, ending with a curtain (and indeed demarcating the space reserved for live performances). In the background, as if in a niche, a statue of St. Anthony rests on an ultramarine blue plinth: again a tribute to the building’s origin, a citation that manages to be respectful while still having a pop soul.
In the same spirit, the walls are decorated with contemporary wallpaper panels framed by subtle moldings, as was done in the 19th century. The key design, on a visual level, of the project is precisely this: an almost bulimic juxtaposition of references (from Vietri tiles to Memphis taste via the atmospheres of David Lynch) where abundance does not become oppressive but translates into freshness. By making the past converse with our time – with an educated and amused spirit.
