In the beginning it was the British style (of the mother) that took the first steps, then the knowledge of oriental art (of the father who is a collector) added to a profound knowledge of history, of Renaissance architecture and to the skills quickly matured by David Morini (the son, architect and today CEO of the company) have produced what today is Pelizzari Studio, a team that has made residential design for the international high society its own cultivation ground, then sliding gently into the world of exclusive hospitality, passing through unique and surprising designs. All with a philosophy that David Morini tells us about from its genesis to the present day.
How was Pelizzari Studio born?
In 1991 Claudia Pelizzari – my mother – founded Pelizzari Studio in Brescia. There is clearly an original sin in all this, because the story she likes to tell says that as a child she furnished a doll’s house… a predestined one, we could say. In the early 90s an interior design studio in Italy was not so common, it was more about architecture, but her energy and passion led her to set this activity in motion. The stylistic slant was very Anglo-Saxon, her frequent trips to London had left her with this British taste that she transmitted in her way of designing. The studio was immediately successful, the projects were numerous, word got around and the first publication of a Pelizzari Studio project was in 1997, in 1999 even in Andrew Martin Review, which raised the level of notoriety. In the first decade of 2000, a number of interior projects were presented on Sky’s then thematic channel Leonardo, including that of a residence in Venice overlooking the Grand Canal owned by contemporary art collectors: I went back there in October and it is still magnificent. The mix between the historicity of the palace, the contemporary art pieces and a polite interior design that does not steal the show from history is really exciting.
When do you join the firm?
In 2012, after some experience with other architects and in Brazil, I joined the studio, in 2019 we opened Milan, in the meantime the work grew, the company welcomed other collaborators, the size of the projects also increased significantly. Since then, we have consolidated the residential area and then we have also dedicated ourselves to hospitality.
How do customers come to you?
Clients come because they stumble upon a narrative that is very much our own: I understand that they may or may not like it, but it is very characteristic of the way we approach a project, those who recognise themselves in this choose us. Chemistry, proximity and assonance may fascinate, our cut is rather dry and I would say definitive, not for everyone clearly. Then word of mouth does its job, the press is very important to us, our social channels work.
You have a specialisation that is not so common, renovation and restoration.
Renovations and restorations are part of our business, we have had frequent discussions with the Superintendencies, we know what we are talking about when we deal with listed buildings. What is certain is that, to pick up on the theme of our narrative, we always try to combine history with contemporary design, even minimal design.
Do you have connections with other worlds?
We attend contemporary art with attention and interest, we created a VIP lounge for Artissima in Turin and for Artefiera in Bologna. We have also worked for the world of antiques, realising in 2023 and 2024 the entrance, lobby and common parts for the Amart at the Museo della Permanente in Milan, here business is scarce, we do it for our own amusement and also to nurture the similarity with our client who is often a collector and speaks that language.
Have you ever received surprising requests?
Yes it has happened, at first we didn’t quite understand why these people had come to us, then as the project went on we understood.
We have always been accustomed to working on the built, we were commissioned a ‘tree house’ inside a relais in Maremma in the Tuscia Viterbese: there was already a first tree house built on a centuries-old oak tree in the middle of a lavender field, we were asked for a second tree house that was to be a suite set up on a maritime pine.
We realised it in collaboration with a French company in the Luberon specialising in tree houses, it was a self-supporting structure of no less than 76 square metres that was an immediate success. Years later, in 2015, we got a call from Umbria from a lady who said, ‘I am American, I live in a small village – Panicale, north of Lake Trasimeno – and my son-in-law who lives in Miami was browsing through Elle Decor at the barber’s, saw our tree house, called me and told me to arrange a meeting with the designers’.
We met with her, visited the land and started planning, the Superintendency gave a favourable opinion and the municipality gave an unfavourable one. In the meantime, the family decided to buy an abandoned 14th-century palazzo in Panicale to turn it into a boutique hotel. To cut a long story short: at present we have completed eight projects for this family, word of mouth among friends and acquaintances (they are all foreigners and high spenders) has produced other high-level hospitality jobs. We have done a conservative restoration of a large part of the hamlet. The most important sign of these projects in Panicale is that the spirit with which they were conceived is linked to inclusiveness and aggregation, the common spaces of these hotels, restaurants and bistros are all open to the community.
You also do product design and have a large parterre of partners, how did you choose them?
We do product design but finalised projects, then some were included by the relevant companies in their catalogues: a collection of handles for Groël, a Spanish company that manufactures near Brescia, and a line of wallpapers for Inkiostro Bianco. We choose our suppliers (an average of 70 for each project) by selecting aesthetics and ability to adhere to the timing and logic of the project, including the construction site.
Upcoming projects?
Numerous, we have one that represents a great challenge and another that is a first, at least in Italy. We have a villa on Lake Como due at the end of June (nothing special so far), but the interior designer who designed the villa in 1996 (including the furnishings) was Gianfranco Ferré. We had to deal with an important legacy, it was a lot of fun and intriguing. The reinterpretation of spaces and materials was complex but exciting.
The second one is about an entrepreneur from Lake Garda who calls us in 2021 and tells us he wants to build a boutique hotel in Rivoltella, but not just any hotel, it has to be Vegan, all the building materials have to be cruelty free, no animal must have suffered violence. It will open in July, I don’t think there is any other precedent for this around.
