Description
During a visit to Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua’s atelier (a must see when in Venice), Giberto and Julia literally went crazy for the crocodile theme fabric. They immediately decided to use it to embellish one of our frames. The result of the union between Murano glass canes, mahogany wood, velvet, and the nails that support the precious mirrors in the Venetian palazzi is magnificent, and was all made possible thanks to the local artisans’ expertise.
The photograph included represents Queen Elena of Italy, Elena of Montenegro, Cettigne 1873 – 1952 Montpelier. The Queen dedicated the photo to Countess Vera Arrivabene, our Creative Director’s grandmother.
Venice is the common trait that connects all the dots. The young Princess from Montenegro met her future husband, Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, for the first time (encounter orchestrated by Queen Margherita and Francesco Crispi) at La Fenice on a Venice trip during the International Exhibition of Art in 1895 (the first Art Biennale). They got married the following year and lived together for the rest of their lives, a true love marriage.
The Designer
The life of Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga is viscerally linked to Venice. His childhood memories, the most beautiful, are those that have taken place in the rooms of Palazzo Papadopoli, between frescoes of Tiepolo and family affection. “In my earliest memories Venice had other colours. It was more obscure, dramatic, decayed and deeply romantic – simply beautiful. There wasn’t the same light like there is today – more dazzling perhaps, but less poetic.”
Craftmanship
Giberto Arrivabene chose the precious Coccodrillo velvet produced by Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua: historic laboratory on the Grand Canal in Venice that to this day weaves its velvets with XVIII century looms.
The fabric, the glass canne, or canes, personally chosen by Giberto in the Murano furnaces where they are handblown, and the metal nails contribute in giving the frame an elegant look and strong character. The mahogany base adds a feeling of solidity.