Sicilian Dammuso with interiors by Gennaro Avallone

/ Design /
The Italian artist and sculptor Gennaro Avallone can be called a jeweler in his field - he works so elegantly and subtly with the textures and textures of wood, metal, ceramics and glass.

In his panels, Gennaro combines gilded stucco, handmade paper and rough canvases. And also masterfully works with embossing on the skin, creating variations on the theme of gilded walls covered with "gold room" Cuori d'Oro in Venetian palazzo Vendromin of the XNUMXth century.

Decorative panels, bronze furniture and sculptures of the master can be seen at annual international design exhibitions.

To appreciate the full spectrum of Avallone's artistic abilities, it is worth visiting the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, where he participated in the transformation of an ancient dammuso into a prestigious modern hotel.

Photo: Nuria Val

The traditional dammuso architecture of the island of Pantelleria is a vaulted structure made of lava stone. In contrast to the ancient cave dammuzos in the foothills of Ibla, Pantellerian dammuzos are free-standing structures of Moorish origin, inherited from Arab settlements that have been located here since the XNUMXth century. Covered ones served as dwellings and storehouses for crops, and dammusos without a roof, cylindrical or square-shaped, protected gardens and orchards from the sirocco and mistral winds.

The architectural concept of the Sikelia retreat hotel was worked on by Gabriella Giuntoli, who combined the ruins of historical buildings with modern buildings, and the interior design was carried out by the Alessandrelli Pazienza bureau team, who used Avallone's work in the design. Gennaro worked for several years in Pantelleria, conducting research in the field of applied art and studying local culture.

At Sikelia retreat hotel, the designer's works – ego sculptures, furniture, panels and glass vases – are in a symbiotic relationship with traditional architecture, dark lava stone boulders and dazzling white exterior walls.

Muted, "dusty" colors in the interior design of the hotel allow the eyes to rest from the dazzling Mediterranean landscapes with a predominance of white, blue and turquoise, and serve as an ideal background for Panno Avallone, andworks in the walls (la casena), one of the characteristic elements of the traditional dammuso architecture - separate spaces for sculptures. 

Photo source: laboratorioavallone.com