As usual I was struck by the genial initiative of the Riva brothers. I reject on principle the concept of the 'throwaway”, so I warm to the idea of working salvaged materials, above all at this particular moment in history. Then there is also my love for Venice, a city that has always fascinated me, an extraordinary marriage of land, sea and architectural magnificence. I still have memories of myself as a child hugging the briccole trying to shake them when the boat docked and years later of the approaching gondola carrying on it my future wife on the day of our wedding. So this design object is born out of my emotional relationship, indeed, my affective relationship, with the city of Venice. It draws inspiration from some of the elements that characterise this extraordinary complex: wood, water and the sparkle of gold fixed in glass. The briccola is the column supporting the lampshade, a briccola cut in two, vertically. This sharp, determined cut is visible by the non alignment of the two halves. One of the internal surfaces is treated with gold-leaf, the other is burned till the flame creates an irregular black patina. The cut pieces enfold glass blocks, shards of Murano, applied along a tubular rod welded to a worked iron base. The column supports a unit of four light bulbs and a support formed of two flat iron rings to which is attached a metal screen that functions as a shade.
Italy