A FRESCOED ROSETTE FOR A VILLA ON LAKE MAGGIORE

12 Sep A FRESCOED ROSETTE FOR A VILLA ON LAKE MAGGIORE

DESIGNED BY THE ART

We are in a luxurious villa in Cannobio, a small village of Roman origin that overlooks the northern shores of Lake Maggiore, in one of the most beautiful settings that Piedmont can offer us.
Switzerland is just a few kilometres away, but the culture of this eclectic wine producer is strictly Italian. He has turned this charming villa into his pleasure palace, surrounding himself with beauty and art.
The villa has been recently renovated, enhancing the original stuccowork, bright and spacious rooms and refined interior finishes, thanks to elaborate and meticulous restoration works requested and managed by the owner himself.

A rendering of the external façade requested by the owner at the end of the works. The villa is located in Cannobio, a beautiful village on the shores of Lake Maggiore

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PROJECT OF DECORATION

The encounter with Mariani Affreschi came about for a specific need, as explained below. At an advanced stage of the renovation works, when the owners were already living in the villa, the need arose to give new life to the ceiling of one room. The original stuccowork and friezes left room for a ceiling rosette measuring one and a half metres in diameter. This area contained a previous decoration that in the owner’s opinion did not go well with the recent renovation works. Unfortunately, however, the opening of a new “building site” inside a lived-in dwelling was an undesirable prospect.
The Mariani Affreschi staff examined the circumstances and came up with a solution that it used often. It involved creating the work inside its Brescia Laboratory (according to the exact specifications of the customer, in the indicated size and shapes) and then installing it on site. This final procedure only requires a few hours of work and often does not involve the artists travelling from Brescia and, most of all, means no building works inside the home.
The painting was selected by taking into consideration three types of paintings, all appropriate for the setting: a classic figurative scene, an ornamental rosette and a trompe l’oeil painting. Mariani Affreschi proposed some models from its catalogues and, after some discussion with family members and a few close friends, the owner finally chose the work that would complete his ceiling: the ornamental decorative rosette.

A detail of the work in progress, which was used to “dialogue” with the customer for choosing the correct colours of the painting

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FRESCO EXECUTION

The Mariani staff collaborated closely with the customer to create the painting inside the laboratory, sending pictures of the work being executed on a daily basis. Especially in the early stage, this “dialogue” allowed finding the most suitable colours for the final destination, thanks to tests carried out by the artist and readily verified by the owner, until the perfect colour scheme was obtained for the ceiling. Gold leaf finishes added a delicate classic touch to the ornamental design allowing the rosette to harmonise perfectly with its final destination, surrounded by richly decorated with stuccowork. The painting was then glued onto a wooden panel of a few millimetres thick, which provided high rigidity and relatively low weight.

A front view of the ornamental decorative rosette before being applied to the ceiling of the villa. The painting was meticulously created by the Mariani artists

Installed on the ceiling, the fresco finds a perfect home in the existing stuccowork. Before its execution, the colours and proportions were carefully studied by Mariani

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PLACING OF THE FRESCO

The painting was carefully packed and sent by courier to the villa in Cannobio, where a local craftsman applied it on the ceiling following the technical instructions of Mariani.
Efinishing touch he wanted. In the rooms of the villa, in the company of guests, he will be able to enjoy fine moments of pleasure cradled by the wind of the lake and warmed by a timeless work of art.

The villa overlooks Lake Maggiore, giving its owner a magnificent view from its palatial rooms