Jennifer Micocci Interiors: EAT + ITALY, Part II

EATALY exterior signage

Now let’s talk architecture. Ever since I moved to Rome, there has been this enormous abandoned space that lies beside the Ostiense train station, a stones throw from Garbatella. Originally built in 1989/90 by the Spanish architect Julio Lafuente as the Air Terminal Ostiense, and more specifically for the 1990 World Cup, it was reduced to a sad building with broken glass and graffiti galore, not to mention the fact that the perimeter porticos were overrun by homeless people. I believe the homeless have been repositioned… at least I hope they have found safe refuge. And so the genius behind this new Eataly (the ninth location to open in Italy) is Mr. Oscar Farinetti. Genius for the overall idea of the business (all Italian products of the utmost quality) and genius for giving rebirth to this four-story, 170,000 sq/ft open space of metal and glazing.

A gastronomic heaven, each product type has its own allotted section, and design for that matter, as the mood changes with the use of colored ceramic tiles (i.e. an array of blues in the seafood section or brick red for the pizza oven). Or woven Lisart (Antonio Lissoni) woods applied vertically as in the Caffé Vergano; I do quite adore this warm, intimate space that has been created inside such an open setting, most of which encompasses hard surfaces (for photos, see the previous blog post). This specific café has faux leather upholstered club chairs, but the bulk of the seating, all from Kartell, are the Loulou Ghost and Thalya chairs. Likewise, various lighting styles from Luceplan illuminate about, whether the Costanza shaded pendants or the featured Hope chandeliers suspended three stories giving a sparkle and a glimpse from every open level.

And so, in the spirit of Eataly…

“La bellezza salvera’ l’Italia.” ~Oscar Farinetti