Italian studio Progetto Arte Poli: interior as a work of art

When it comes to luxurious interiors, not only the original premium design project is brought to the fore, but also its masterful one-of-a-kind implementation. Anna Chinkoli, head of the ALTER EGO office in Milan, shares with us this information about the unique workshop, where artists, sculptors, mosaic artists, blacksmiths, and glassblowers, rather than labourers, are the main creative force.

The skill to create sophisticated and magnificent interior solutions is highly valued in Italy, which is home to talented artists and craftsmen such as the artisans of Progetto Arte Poli, who are able to accomplish the most creatively challenging tasks. It is a unique Italian atelier; the only one in the world that even today works on the principle of Renaissance workshops, specializing in ancient decorative techniques of blown glass, mosaics, frescoes, bronze casting, metal forging and creating stone sculptures. The secret of the company is a combination of creativity, which is inherent in works of art, and modern technology in architectural and engineering design, a resort to modern design, and the development of new materials and finishes. Another advantage of the atelier is that so many different craftsmen work under one roof, which allows them to create decorative ensembles using a variety of techniques.

The history of the workshop began with artistic blown glass. To this day, the archives contain samples and formulations for creating 6,000 shades of this amazing material. Progetto Arte Poli's fame is due to its ability to produce magnificent decorative glass ceilings. They are found all over the world in the grand interiors of famous hotels, or in historical buildings such as the Pontifical Palace in the Vatican.

One of the largest projects of the atelier was a blown glass ceiling for the Tefang Portman Hotel. The size of the composition was 27 x 16 x 5 metres, and each element was made by hand, including the openwork decor of wrought iron. To decorate the fountains for the same project, numerous bronze sculptures of 3 to 6m in height were created according to an old casting technique. The hand-painted walls and ceiling frescoes, with a total area of about 400m2 created quite an impression with their scale and thoroughness.

This Italian studio invented its main know-how precisely in the creation of frescoes. This is a technique that allows them to apply an image, not to a wall with fresh stucco, but to a canvas in the workshop environment. It completely retains the genuine charm of painting and brightness of the pigments, but adds practicality and durability to the drawing. Such canvases are attached to the walls using innovative methods that provide long-lasting endurance. This technique makes it possible to create frescos remotely, without the need for a long stay of a team of artists and craftsmen at the site, which is especially important during the pandemic.