A Roman Residence with Full-On Poetic Flair

Achille Salvagni’s apartment in Rome, a 3,600-square-foot property in the Coppedè neighborhood, is a bit like the city itself: richly layered and full of contradictions, with sharp angles set against flowing curves, and Pop Art paired with centuries-old furnishings. And just like Rome, it flaunts an unapologetic sensuality. “I love to emphasize the poetry of different eras, to mix different periods, all under the big dome of beauty,” says Salvagni, an Italian architect and furniture designer known for creating sculptural pieces that are rooted in history. “If you deal with beauty you never make mistakes.”

His distinct approach to design can be seen in every corner of the home he shares with his wife and two children, starting with the main hallway, where a set of 17th-century Venetian armchairs flank a modern oak credenza with concave aluminum doors, which Salvagni designed to evoke a warrior's shield. The silk rug beneath it, also designed by Salvagni, shows a map of San Felice Circeo, a coastal town in the Lazio region where he spent his childhood summers. Above the credenza are two 18th-century Parisian prints lit by bronze fixtures culled from an old Roman library. “I love the idea of being surrounded by pieces that have a narrative behind them,” he says. “Everything here has a reference—it could be a gift from someone special, a rare antique, or something that reflects a period of my life.”

One of the highlights of the apartment are its views of the grand Villa Albani, built in the mid-1700s to house Cardinal Alessandro Albani’s collection of antiquities and ancient Roman sculptures. “Some of the most incredible treasures from all over the world are in this villa, including the only piece of the Parthenon outside of Athens and the British Museum,” says Salvagni. “Knowing that it’s there, so close, makes me feel a little bit special.” Salvagni and his wife like to relax in this cozy parlor connected to the living room, featuring a side table and lamp from his own collection.

The apartment itself, inherited by Salvagni’s wife, has quite the narrative. It’s in a building designed in 1905 by architect Marcello Piacentini, whose most prominent works were commissioned by Mussolini’s Fascist government in the 1920s and ’30s. Although Salvagni completed top-to-bottom renovations before moving in, he was careful to preserve the style of the space. “As an Italian raised in Rome, I’m obsessed with heritage,” he says. “I never wanted to destroy the early-1900s flair of the project, and luckily most people don’t even notice that it has been dramatically changed.”

One crucial alteration to the layout of the residence was to make the living room much larger. Is it here that Salvagni unleashed his color fantasies, creating a vibrant yet delicate palette inspired by the paintings of Bronzino, Giotto, and Piero della Francesca. Many of the hues used by these great masters—pale pinks, rusty oranges, pastel blues, and bright yellows—are seen in the room’s fabrics, such as the orange velvet that covers a set of curved lounge chairs, and in the artworks on display, including a light-blue painting by contemporary artist Ettore Spalletti. “Colors are part of life; it’s very rare to find black-and-white options in nature,” quips Salvagni. “I think of color as the invisible thread that goes through the space; all the pieces are different, but together they play a symphonic sound.” Indeed, Salvagni’s eye for harmony is as fine-tuned as a composer’s ear.

A Roman Residence with Full-On Poetic Flair

In the Roman home of design Achille Salvagni, white cabinets from Poggenpohl, together with a black marble island and black-and-white marble flooring, give the renovated kitchen a sleek, modern look. But Salvagni added a couple of antiques for good measure. The painting on the back wall is a family heirloom depicting an ancestor who was a prominent member of the Catholic church. “My mother was always scared by this painting when she was a child, so my grandmother kept it in a warehouse,” remembers Salvagni, adding that the portrait does not have the same chilling effect on him or his children.

The chandelier that hangs above the dining table, a bronze, onyx, and 24-carat-gold limited-edition piece called Spider, is one of Salvagni’s most emblematic designs. “I love to read about the history of design; this was a sort of homage to Italian style in the ’40s and ’50s,” he says. “I work with very heavy materials, but I like to make them seem light.” In the background is a one-of-a-kind white work by Jason Martin, a British artist known for his brightly colored, thickly textured paintings.

In this hallway leading to the kitchen, a midcentury rosewood sideboard by Osvaldo Borsani stands against a wall covered in turquoise silk wallpaper, which is hung with a set of backlit onyx and cast-bronze sconces designed by Salvagni. Toward the back, behind a black-stained oak arch, is a wardrobe with antique Tibetan doors.

Architect and furniture designer Achille Salvagni and his family live in this 3,600-square-foot apartment in Rome’s Quartiere Coppedè, an exclusive neighborhood featuring a series of fantastical buildings designed in the early 1900’s by Gino Coppedè—Italy’s answer to Antoni Gaudí. In the living room, Salvagni mixed sharp angles with flowing curves, and Pop Art with centuries-old furnishings. The triangular coffee table is actually a glass-topped case that holds one of Gianni Piacentino’s motorcycle-inspired metallic sculptures. “I was scared of letting my kids play with it, so I made this special case,” says Salvagni. “When Gianni heard about this he didn’t want to speak to me any longer, but eventually we reconciled.”

In this corner of the living room, a large painting by Russian artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov (part of their “Under the Snow” series) was paired with a set of mustard armchairs from the 1950s, designed by Nino Zoncada. “The color of the chairs matches some areas of the painting,” explains Salvagni. “It’s not a obvious reference, and you might not realize it immediately, but you sense the harmony.”

While it may not be obvious in this image, the master bed is “floating” in the middle of the room. Although the choice was made for practical reasons—Salvagni’s wife wanted more storage space, and now there are cabinets behind the bed—the designer noted that once upon a time, kings and emperors used to sleep in the center of their chambers. “I think it elevates your sense of balance,” he says. The framed prints on the side wall, titled My Rome, show artist Zhang Huan’s performance art in the Capitolium.

Salvagni designed the twin cabinets in the master bathroom, which is largely covered in black-and-white marble. The bathtub is from Duravit, and the fixtures are from Lefroy Brooks.

One of the highlights of the apartment is its views of the grand Villa Albani, built in the mid-1700s to house Cardinal Alessandro Albani’s collection of antiquities and ancient Roman sculptures. “Some of the most incredible treasures from all over the world are in this villa, including the only piece of the Parthenon outside of Athens and the British Museum,” says Salvagni. “Knowing that it’s there, so close, makes me feel a little bit special.” Salvagni and his wife like to relax in this cozy parlor connected to the living room, featuring a side table and lamp from his own collection.

In the main hallway, a set of 17th-century Venetian armchairs flank a modern oak credenza with concave aluminum doors, which Salvagni designed to evoke a warrior's shield. The silk rug beneath it, also designed by Salvagni, shows a map of San Felice Circeo, a coastal town in Lazio where he spent his childhood summers. Above the credenza are two 18th-century Parisian prints lit by bronze fixtures culled from an old Roman library.