Culture

Creating a balance between dealing collectable design, culturally significant pieces and innovative new collaborations is no mean feat. Giustini / Stagetti, located on the elegant Via Gregoriana, manages to curate a good balance. The current site opened in 2022 and was the result of a collaboration between late Milanese design maestro Umberto Riva and architect Emiliano Scarano. Impeccable material selection, such as the carrara marble staircase and the white Venetian terrazzo, is rendered artfully throughout. From Enzo Mari’s venture into Japanese lacquerware to mid-century maestro Luigi Genazzi’s silverware, the exhibits are always high-quality with the verve of a commercial gallery.
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Palazzo Massimo presents ancient Roman interiors by using original frescoed interior walls. Removed whole from Roman bed chambers, dining spaces and kitchens, they’ve been hung in rooms of the same proportions. Stepping into Livia’s garden room is like being outdoors – its walls depict such horticultural details that you can almost hear birdsong. Still more intimate is the room-by-room recreation of a villa of the Augustan age. It’s a reminder that ancient Rome was a riot of colour and was often more alien than we imagine.

Irish-born curator O’Neill opened his contemporary gallery in 2014. Although the whitewashed space is small it is no indication of the artists exhibited within. Names include Tracey Emin, Anselm Kiefer and Richard Long, as well as Italians such as sculptor and painter Luigi Ontani. O’Neill chooses the artists based on personal appreciation rather than theme or movement. “There is often a long-standing relationship between Lorcan and the artists,” says gallery assistant Vasco Forconi. “First the person, then the art.”