Palazzo Nobile, Naples

An apartment inNapleswhich is the seventh life of a building. And not just any building, but the family’s suburban residenceOrsini, who lived there until his deathDuchess Felicia Maria in 1647. Then it was donated to the religious of Santa Maria in Portico and became, until the first decades of the 19th century, a novitiate. With the unification of Italy, the face of Naples, as well as that of many other cities, changed and entire neighborhoods were created, such as the Rione Amedeo with the Margherita Park, right in front of the sea. Completed in 1876 (the date is found on the door stop at the entrance on Via Crispi), the palace became ahotelunder the management ofGiovanni Nobileand then the Swiss entrepreneurAlfred Hauser.But the transformations did not stop there: the refectory became, from 1880 onwards, a concert hall, home to the Quartet Society. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, the entire building began to be transformed into a private condominium, hosting the headquarters of the Compagnia degli Illusi and even two cinemas, the “CinemaAmedeo” and the “Ambasciatori”. Unlike places that deteriorate over time without leaving a trace, this one, with the patina of time, has acquired charm and has been transformed into a living anthology of memory and culture.

A layered story

This apartment in Naples by125square meters (+ others60of terrace) captured the architect’s interestAntonio Di Maroprecisely because of its stratified and very rich history. «But also for the sunlight that enters from the south», says the architect, who in this case started the project for himself and his young family. «I fell in love with it. The house was empty, what remained of the pre-existing buildings were the beautiful cross vaults of the building and theterracotta floorsoriginal Sicilian, which we have kept. There are apartments that will win you over instantly. When I visited it for the first time I understood that it had everything I wanted: a tree-lined courtyard, a shelter with polychrome windows, two floors of stairs in the composed dim light of a neo-Renaissance building, cross vaults, nineteenth-century terracotta floors, natural light so generous that it crosses the entire space transversally and an extended curtain serving the entire apartment”, he says.

Secrets and discoveries

Memory, architecture, design culture, family memories and feelings are the ingredients of Antonio Di Maro’s project. «Whoever wants to really know me must come here, not to my studio», he says. «There are antique family pieces, mine and my wife’s, pieces made to my design in a completely artisanal way, works of art by talents that I admire». But not only that. This house is also a place of surprises: during therenovation worksA room excavated under a tuff curtain was discovered which perhaps in the past was used as a wine deposit. An unexpected discovery, which sparked the architect’s design imagination and transformed that space into an evocative onebathroom. The tuff walls were treated and illuminated to emphasize the natural texture. «When I started the work I knew well that the first obstacle to face would be that of the historical-artistic matrix of the building and its adaptability to home automation through the sew and unstitch technique. The beauty ofterracotta flooringhad to be preserved, that of the exalted cross arches”.

The perfect rhythm

The space of this apartment is designed through a rhythmic sequence of arches and simple volumes, translated into iron and polycarbonate monoliths which are the architect’s distinctive sign. «The monolith speaks of me, of my approach to interior architecture, of how with a kind of arrogance I relate in a spurious way to ancient shells like this. I do not offer any concession to decorativism: the pieces that animate my space are designed to contain and fulfill functions. Polycarbonate can have dignity if used well, like the loading pipes for the large hydraulic pipes in the cities that I use, for example to create the sink in a bathroom.”In this house no object is ever random,but he is chosen for his ability to tell stories, which speak of artisan work, passions, friendships, affections and births. Like sculpturesite specificmade byAntonella Romano, commissioned by the architect to celebrate the birth of his daughter Andrea, which took place on a full moon night.Daughter of the Moonit is a poetic homage to life and continuity. Its presence transforms the space into an intimate and universal story, with a narrative force that dialogues with the architecture and the emotions of those who live there.