Borgo dei Conti Resort: interior design project  · 
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Borgo dei Conti Resort: interior design project

“I left Perugia on a glorious morning and felt the happiness of being once more alone. The site of the city is beautiful and the view of the lake extraordinarily pleasing:these scenes are deeply impressed on my memory”.

«The Lake of Perugia offers a spectacle of great beauty. I yearn to have some (of mine) by my side”.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe, 1786

From above and beyond the stretches of olive groves, we admired the very same lovely landscape that reflected in Raphael’s eyes as it had done in those of Augustus…».

Hans Christian Andersen

And this is how the story of the “Borgo” begins: hundreds of untold Umbrian stories, legends and tales of artists and observations on natural beauty. We used fragments of them to forge creative influences and inspirations for our project within Borgo dei Conti.

 Manifesto

The research that inspired our work is the secret weave between the beauty transformed by artists and the splendour of the Umbrian landscape.

The enigma is whether Renaissance inspiration was drawn from the countryside that was outlined according to perspective criteria, or whether it was drawn from the grace and sheer perfection of Umbria that simply shines through every single stone. Understandably then, fifteenth and sixteenth century painting becomes a paradigm for colours, materials and proportions.

On the other hand, Renaissance harmony also inspirits more contemporary choices of furniture and furnishings. In fact the long-standing architecture references are accompanied by a contemporary vision for furnishings, a simple elegance defined by the colours and materials of nature.

Everything is full of rich, cultured references and profound allusions, in which landscapes and architecture take the main stage, as if it were a stage set in which the guests are the protagonists.

The methodological approach

Central Italy became the main place of Renaissance art in the 15th century. Against this backdrop there is a fundamental character who will make Perugia a very popular and unique centre for the evolution of a real Umbrian pictorial school: Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci, known as Perugino.

“In Perugino’s work (…) there is simply no darkness, no wrong. Every colour is lovely, every space is light. The world, the universe, is divine: all sadness is part of harmony; all gloom a part of peace.”

J. Ruskin, 1876

Even before then, great masters worked and trained in the Umbrian city: Domenico Veneziano, Benozzo Gozzoli, Beato Angelico and most notably Piero della Francesca.

The school of Perugino is therefore a fundamental step in the evolution of Renaissance pictorial culture, so much so that the young Raphael was also his pupil, making it an important milestone in his education and training.

Renaissance painting in Umbria. A fundamental trait which, as Curzio Malaparte wrote, describes and contemplates the evolution of the landscape, the nature, in an indissoluble relationship of mutual influence.

This is how the colours of the project come about. They are the colours reminiscent of Umbrian Renaissance artistry, which in turn, filtered the wonderful landscape and nature. But Umbria, just like all Italian regions, has another great, yet hidden history: its material traditions and heritage. That network of craftsmanship, know-how, uses, customs and materials which are intrinsically connected to the place, radically contributing to its soul and identity.

We therefore looked for the most authentic yet trademark and identity-making experiences of  Umbrian culture and found the materials for the project: Etruscan terracotta from Montone (PG),  fornace Sugaroni in Castel Viscardo (TR), San Terenziano stone, hand-woven fabrics by Giuditta Brozzetti based in Perugia, and so on.

A truly philological approach to the project, in which the main contents and experiences are the result of research connected to the history, culture and traditions of places, before any stylistic choice has been made. The hotel, in this way, becomes the custodian of the place’s identity, of its cultural heritage, a sort of cultural “hub”, in which guests, simply by spending time there, can experience the real spirit of the place.

Summary and subdivision of the project

Core assets:

  • Location of the Resort, nestled in the green heart of Italy, surrounded by over 20 hectares of private woodland;
  • Research on colours inspired by the Umbrian Renaissance ;
  • Umbrian material traditions and heritage.

Type of project: 5 Stars Luxury Hotel, Relais & Chateaux
Size data: 40 keys
Special features: Fit Out and FF&E, Custom-made furnishing, Lighting design
Services: Turnkey interior design project
© Spagnulo & Partners – all rights reserved
Photos: © Dario Garofalo e Diego de Pol
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