Window to the Water: Venice Apartment by Eligo Studio.

No more than a few yards from the Church of San Marcuola, on the third floor of a sixteenth-century building in Sestriere di Cannaregio, is Venice. All of Venice. Not just the parts you read about, or the ones you ultimately, unwittingly experience as a tourist. Not the parts in guides and travel books, or in carefully edited vignettes on Instagram. These are the parts that are slower, calmer, wearier, and seldom seen by those who don’t stop long enough to notice. It’s these parts, these rare parts, that are appreciated by locals alone, like their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents before them. For its people who recognise Venice when it sleeps, when the shadows loom taller and wider, and the water is finally at rest.

The story was no different for these homeowners, a family with a proclivity for art and architecture. They approached architect Alberto Nespoli of Eligo Studio to redesign their space with a simple ask: to highlight the features of the original architecture. Alberto, of course, was happy to oblige. After all, the home had numerous hallmarks worth preserving—most of all, the marvellous natural light. “The home’s beauty was quintessentially Italian,” says Alberto. “You immediately felt like you were inside an ancient Venetian court, thanks to an interior patio decorated with bas-reliefs and friezes.”

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Another focal point was the unfettered vista of the waterfront. But framing the view over the Canal Grande proved to be a double-edged sword. “By highlighting it, we could achieve a contemporary space without interrupting the connection to the city,” avers Alberto. On the other hand, with such large windows and larger-than-life views, where and whether old would lead to new was a question left unanswered.

Alberto’s goal was to restore faded architectural features, such as beams and wooden pillars, while adding modern overlays. At the same time, there were no rules when it came to decor. The furnishings, most of them made to measure, were brought to life by skilled local craftsmen, while an element of modularity was introduced in the way of graceful Tigulline and Leggerissime armchairs and multifunctional sofa beds, the latter designed by Eligo Studio and fabricated by Milanesi iVigna. Some elements are more curious than others. Exhibit A: the pivoting mirror disk at the entrance, which acts like a magical, moving kaleidoscope.

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The use of colour was especially considered. Alberto was inspired by the typical facades of the city. And so, dark scarlets, chrome yellows, dark greens and warm whites were emblazoned here and there. An ad hoc lighting system, consisting of recessed spotlights, blown glass bubbles and freestanding lamps, was also introduced, to conjure up layers of light akin to the setting sun.

Alberto tailored the home to accommodate the family’s many objets d’art, particularly their prized collection of Murano vases. “They own glasses from one of the oldest and most important Murano furnaces, so the collection definitely deserved pride of place,” Alberto shares. After the sun has set and the canals have quietened, their amber glow is reflected in these glasses, as is their spirit. This is Venice in all its glory.

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[Images courtesy of Eligo Studio. Photography by Helenio Barbetta.]