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Past meets (work-in) progress to futureproof this 19th-century palazzo turned café

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30 Apr 2025
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Hospitality
BOOKMARK ARTICLE
Past meets (work-in) progress to futureproof this 19th-century palazzo turned café
  1. Caffè Nazionale is a seamless extension of the Arzignano City Hall and public square in the palazzo’s collonaded wing. - Mikael Olsson
  2. It is a nod to how spaces, especially those with nearly 200 years of history, can evolve through time and that their current function is exactly that: rooted in the here and now. - Mikael Olsson
  3. The Caffè Nazionale, designed by AMAA, has been imagined as an ode to its different eras of use, balancing restored original elements with contemporary interventions. - Mikael Olsson
  4. A vestibule-like space serves as a transition point between the bar and the outdoor garden. - Mikael Olsson
  5. The furniture, featuring belts and cranks, reflects the intentionally unfinished aesthetic that contrasts with the grandiosity of the building’s original columns, mouldings and other fine finishes. - Mikael Olsson
  6. A mostly glazed façade follows the rhythm of the building’s archways, except for an original burnished iron door, which provides direct sightlines to the adjacent public square. - Mikael Olsson
  7. Mikael Olsson
  8. Artist collaborations, such as pieces that recall theatrical posters of the Belle Époque, further nod to the past while highlighting the new. - Mikael Olsson
  9. Original architectural features like archways and new ones, including precisely mosaiced tile floors, are contrasted with unfinished drywall, exposed brick and even walls with holes in them. - Mikael Olsson
  10. The way space looks and feels – as well as the way it's used – is a symbolic manifestation of a futureproof ethos. - Mikael Olsson
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  1. Caffè Nazionale is a seamless extension of the Arzignano City Hall and public square in the palazzo’s collonaded wing. - Mikael Olsson
  2. It is a nod to how spaces, especially those with nearly 200 years of history, can evolve through time and that their current function is exactly that: rooted in the here and now. - Mikael Olsson
  3. The Caffè Nazionale, designed by AMAA, has been imagined as an ode to its different eras of use, balancing restored original elements with contemporary interventions. - Mikael Olsson
  4. A vestibule-like space serves as a transition point between the bar and the outdoor garden. - Mikael Olsson
  5. The furniture, featuring belts and cranks, reflects the intentionally unfinished aesthetic that contrasts with the grandiosity of the building’s original columns, mouldings and other fine finishes. - Mikael Olsson
  6. A mostly glazed façade follows the rhythm of the building’s archways, except for an original burnished iron door, which provides direct sightlines to the adjacent public square. - Mikael Olsson
  7. Mikael Olsson
  8. Artist collaborations, such as pieces that recall theatrical posters of the Belle Époque, further nod to the past while highlighting the new. - Mikael Olsson
  9. Original architectural features like archways and new ones, including precisely mosaiced tile floors, are contrasted with unfinished drywall, exposed brick and even walls with holes in them. - Mikael Olsson
  10. The way space looks and feels – as well as the way it's used – is a symbolic manifestation of a futureproof ethos. - Mikael Olsson
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Location
Map pointer Piazza Libertà, 10, 36071 Arzignano VI, Italy
Design
AMAA
Clients
MAM Srl, Municipality of Arzignano
Contractor
Moredile of Morabito Massimo Casillo Srl
Artist, Furniture Design
Nero/Alessandro Neretti
Floor Area
565 sq-m

The original architectural features of the 19th-century palazzo are contrasted by new spatial functions and a work-in-progress aesthetic.

Key features

A 19th-century building originally

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