Art and Architecture Reinterpret Italian Classicism

By Editorial Staff - 14 April 2023
Isoplam has participated in the project

Treviso’s oldest civic museum is an homage to abbot Luigi Bailo’s extraordinary passion for collecting: his great interest has led to an incredibly rich art collection that bears his name, an artistic and cultural heritage that embraces the second half of the 19^th century and the entire 20^th century. Housed inside a medieval convent, the gallery has once again become accessible and open to visitors thanks to a renovation, expansion and refurbishment project led by Studiomas Architetti in collaboration with Austrian architect Heinz Tesar. Together, they have enhanced the dialogue between eras in a space that has more than doubled in size compared to the original.

Arte e architettura reinterpretano la classicità italiana © Marco Zanta, courtesy Isoplam

The relationship between past and present, between historical and contemporary memory is not just perceptible through the purely artistic language, but also through the architecture. The principal aspects of the project were a renewed connection with the urban fabric, a new interior layout of the rooms, and the redevelopment of the northern cloister of the complex. Redesigned with rigor and with the intent of creating a greater connection between city and museum, the façade stands out for the elegance of the great white artificial stone slabs and the large windows: approaching the atrium from here, it is possible to notice the presence of two cloisters connected by the main gallery with an entrance and ticket office, as well as the organization of the museum into two separate areas, one dedicated to actual exhibitions and the other to services.

Guiding and enhancing the visitor experience is both the structure of the spaces and a continuous floor surface that reinterprets Venetian terrace, an icon of local tradition. The contribution of Isoplam, which supplied white Terrazzoverlay with a polished finish, was instrumental to the project. The blend of Italian marble and cement powder, personalized with the addition of fine mother-of-pearl inserts and other natural stones, creates a one-of-a-kind floor.

Arte e architettura reinterpretano la classicità italiana © Marco Zanta, courtesy Isoplam

Proposed as the indoor version – polished and shiny – Terrazzoverlay has proven itself to be the ideal solution not just for its esthetic effects that allude to and evoke the past, but also for its qualities of resistance, necessary in a high-traffic environment. In addition, the absence of joints and seams make the surface hygienic and easy to clean, minimizing the need for maintenance in the long-term.

The overall effect is an almost ethereal ambiance, with a sophisticated atmosphere also thanks to the delicate palettes of the interiors, the numerous arched structures, the large windows, and the lighting design that enhances sculptures and paintings.