apartment in St. Petersburg Pierangelo Marengo, Piero Luigi Carboni

Passing the gallery

A photo: Dmitry Livshits

Text: Julia Shaginurova

Stylist: Anna Plotnikova

Designer: Pierangelo Marengo, Piero Luigi Carboni

Magazine: N4 (82) 2004

To love the city of Pushkin and Dostoevsky is simple: there are not many such beautiful cities in the world. To love him in such a way as to decide to settle in this decadent space, even if only for a few days a month, is already a gesture. Infecting friends with this love and making an international commune of St. Petersburg lovers out of them is an application for fate. Italians Pierangelo Marengo and Piero Luigi Carboni submitted their application Architects, designers, antique dealers Pierangelo Marengo and Piero Luigi Carboni live between the Old and the New World. They are buying classic apartments in Miami and futuristic shopping centers in ancient Italian towns. They made their two-storeyed “antiquities shop” on the prestigious Milanese street of Brera a model of uncompromising hi-tech. This is one of the most fashionable antique shops in the world. It is not surprising that, being in Petersburg for the first time, these aesthetes and subtle connoisseurs of antiquity could not remain indifferent to him. Pierangelo and Piero Luigi are not just carried away by the history and architecture of the city, but turned this passion into a consistent occupation and creative passion. They made a good collection of local antiques and from time to time they help make acquisitions to their friends and clients, in principle, only referring to St. Petersburg masters for restoration. So, a renovated house at the corner of the Kryukov Canal and Rimsky-Korsakov Street. Here, Italian antique dealers bought apartments for themselves, and soon friends followed their example. As a result, the house turned into an island of secular and cultural life - as they say, "the circle of these local historians is narrow." The newly minted residents of St. Petersburg arrange parties for each other, collect and gladly invite numerous friends to visit ... For one of the champions of this game of beads, their Parisian girlfriend, the designers designed an apartment in this famous house. For her, granddaughters of the first wave of Russian émigrés, finding refuge in St. Petersburg was of particular importance. To make a “classic” interior in St. Petersburg is a delicate task: the competition of the urban environment is too strong. Imitation of the historical style is fraught for the designer with failure, because the more accurate it is, the more the interior will resemble the decoration of a costume drama. The authors of this European "classic" apartment were inspired by the personality of the hostess, whose life flows between Italy, France and Russia. They wanted the interior to match the city outside the window and the one that will live here. Pierangelo and Piero Luigi have relied on quality and a subtle combination of textures, furniture and antiques. Damascus velvet and Venetian plaster, French antiques and Russian painting ... and a sense of proportion, which ultimately determines the fate of any design object. An extremely beautiful color solution: this is a variation on the theme of Petersburg facades, a smooth transition from pale pistachio in the living room to pink, lemon and purple in the bedrooms and, finally, to an active combination of orange and black in the kitchen. It turned out a whole, very feminine space, which disposes to unhurriedly admiring, for which you do not immediately notice an unusual layout. Living room, kitchen, four bedrooms and four bathrooms - so do not make apartments for permanent living. This is for numerous friends, relatives, acquaintances to whom the hostess happily opens her beloved city.