’O sole mio

THE COMPLEX THEATRICAL SPIRIT OF NAPLES IN AN APARTMENT OVERLOOKING THE CHIC CHIAIA NEIGHBORHOOD. Chiaia is the most stylish neighborhood in Naples today. This apartment is located in a building from the early 1900s, and it seems to shun the usual clichés of local identity in favor of a more refined interpretation. «It is still definitely Naples», says Pietro Del Vaglio, the designer behind the flat’s radical transformation. «The first time I saw it I had this impression of the Neapolitan joy of living, sunlight, colors, a certain rather dramatic eclecticism». Avoiding the mannerism of the reigning oxymoronic minimal-baroque, Del Vaglio has «imagined the house as a story, where the single chapters are linked by a red thread». To open up the layout, even structural walls were demolished, requiring reinforcement of partitions and pillars, especially at the entrance where the work has been “clad” by a block of black marble applied as a decorative feature. The living, studio, dining and kitchen zones now exist in circular continuity. The furnishings play an important role, with family heirlooms and design classics. The dining room, for example, takes its cue from the surrealism of Carlo Mollino: his table is combined with vintage chairs and black cabinets designed by Del Vaglio like classical plinths for sculptures. The living area is softer, with upholstered furnishings by Flexform and Fritz Hansen, while the entrance features a beautiful piece by Carlo Bugatti. Over the headboard of the bed by Poliform, an installation by Del Vaglio, is composed of multicolored cords woven on the wall.