An Italian diplomat’s contemporary pied-à-terre in Rome

Amid contemporary design, artwork and travel treasures, architecture firm 02A transformed a Roman apartment in an early 20th-century mansion into a museum-like city pied-à-terre

By Ludovica Stevan

28 November 2022

Image may contain Furniture Indoors Room Bedroom Interior Design Living Room Bed and Chair

Located in a historic building from the early twentieth century, between the green east bank of the Tiber River and the urban vegetation of the Parioli Mountains in Rome’s elegant Flaminio district, this 130-square-metre apartment owned by diplomat Alfonso Tagliaferri – a professional nomad – is now the perfect home. In the apartment, works of art sit in balance with each other, thanks to the intervention of emerging architecture and design studio 02A. “We tried to play with the concept of time,” says Marco Rulli, who co-founded the Roman studio together with Thomas Grossi. “We didn’t want a ‘finished’ house. We were interested in giving space to the unfinished, to imperfection that would encourage a sense of vitality and curiosity.”

Image may contain Furniture Human Person Home Decor Chair Bookcase Interior Design Indoors Shelf and Room

And so, a few steps from the Maxxi Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art, the traditionally laid-out apartment has been transformed into a space to discover artistic relics and craft objects from different countries of the world, such as South Africa and the Philippines. A space that reflects a renewed purpose, “no longer the nest of a bourgeois family,” says Marco, “but the residence of a diplomat, with totally different social rhythms and needs.” Here – among artworks of all kinds, engraved slabs on the walls (such as the one displayed in the scullery), natural materials and bold hues – the bedroom acts as a fine centrepiece for the entire renovation project. Comprising a large suite with an open bathroom, it is defined by a smoked mirror surface that offers maximal diffusion for natural light.

Image may contain Furniture Living Room Room Indoors Couch Interior Design Rug Table Flooring and Coffee Table

In fact, light – another undisputed protagonist in the apartment – is also abundant in the main entrance, which, facing the living area thanks to a glass wall that cleanly cuts through the large vaulted ceilings of the living room and kitchen (painted in ‘Tuscan Red’ by Little Greene), creates a wonderful natural effect. In addition, solid oak parquet flooring provides a backdrop for the eclectic living room, where leather Bretagne sofas by Frau and 1940s French deco armchairs sit in dialogue with an antique Venetian lantern and photographs and sculptures on the walls.

Once again, natural light illuminates the space and helps highlight the French door opening onto a large private garden, which has direct access to the Lungotevere – the walk that runs along the Tiber – and where screening creepers, large palms and lush Monstera Deliciosa thrive. An arched passageway with a custom-made bookcase leads to the dining area. Here, neutral tones on the walls provide a theatrical backdrop to the family’s antique furniture and artworks, such as Igshaan Adams’ tapestry and Pascale Marthine Tayou’s Classroom, while Luceplan’s Illan birch pendant lamp surmounts a glass-topped table with vintage 1950s chairs.

Image may contain Interior Design Indoors Plant Vase Pottery Potted Plant Jar Room Living Room Bedroom and Flower

Finally, a curved wall demarcates the home’s most private area. On one side is the half-bath with a suspended ceramic tub and black marble surfaces; a veritable cabinet of curiosities with ‘Palm Jungle’ wallpaper by Cole & Son and the sinuous shapes of seashells, natural figures, travel treasures and handcrafted Vienna straw sconces. Elsewhere, a two-part studio is dedicated to cinematic art with upholstered vintage theatre chairs (and a projector and motorized curtain hidden in the ceiling), and to writing, with Desalto’s Helsinki desk and an iconic Serbelloni armchair designed by Vico Magistretti for De Padova.