ROMEO SOZZI - Susanna Salk

SPOTLIGHT:
ROMEO SOZZI OF PROMEMORIA
by Susanna Salk
NOVEMBER 2012
ROMEO
SOZZI
IS LATE FOR LUNCH,
but his reason — like everything else in his spectacularly
stylish life, lived with equal parts intention and spontaneity
— makes perfect sense: He was getting his hair cut by his
barber when a friend invited him to join him for a bite of fish.
Romeo Sozzi, the man behind the Italian custom-furniture maker
Promemoria, oversees the creation of such inimitable designs as
the Bilou Bilou chair. All photos courtesy of Promemoria
D
espite founding, owning and running
Promemoria, a tremendously successful
international empire of custom furniture —
which he still operates out of his hometown
of Valmadrera, in Italy’s Lecco province, an
hour north of Milan — Sozzi would never forgo friendship
(or a delicious meal) for the sake of arriving on time to
a business meeting. And besides: The fish is one of his
favorite talismans. “Fish, and frogs for that matter, can
only move forward,” says Sozzi, when he eventually meets
our small group of international journalists in the elegant,
light-filled dining room of his headquarters. “That’s why
they are such a good omen. They are a wonderful reminder
about always forging ahead, both in design and in life.”
For his part, Sozzi has always managed to move his bustling,
nearly 25-year-old furniture company forward, even as he
keeps an eye on the past. As well he should: His company’s
name, after all, means “remembrance” in Italian.
Wisteria vines climb the facade of Villa Mapelli, the 17th-century
home on the shores of Lake Como that Sozzi restored, along with
its dramatic stepped garden, over the course of seven years.
T
he spacious eating area in which we sit
— outfitted in the Angelina kitchen line
he named after his mother — is a perfect
testament to Promemoria’s philosophy.
While the furnishings and hardware are
all state of the art (even unseen hinges are hand-cast
in solid bronze), the inclusive, spirited atmosphere is
anything but pretentious. A cheerful chef cooks classic
Italian dishes on a daily basis, using vegetables and
herbs grown on the terrace just outside, while several
of the company’s 100-plus employees engage us with
animated conversation and frequent laughter.
Dapperly dressed in citron-yellow linen pants and
whimsical custom Belgian loafers trimmed in raspberry
leather, Sozzi sits down for a second lunch (and
multiple espressos), having invited us here to explore
the extraordinary world he has created, one in which
there is little distinction between what can be imagined
and what is realized.
An interior view of the villa shows off a Promemoria chair designed
by Sozzi (seated on a sculptural frog, inset). The shape of the castbronze backrest pays homage to Italian “mamas” of yesteryear,
women known to take the household carpets outdoors to beat out
the dust with wicker paddles.
A sexily zipperfronted lamp
hints at Sozzi’s
playful side.
Promemoria’s ivy-covered headquarters sits in
Sozzi’s hometown of Valmadrera, an hour’s drive
north of Milan.
S
ozzi’s inexhaustible imagination
and perfectionism both spark
and fuel Promemoria’s remarkable inventory of luxuriously
hand-crafted furniture and accessories. In a culture where disposability is
now customary, Sozzi’s commitment to creating quality pieces that endure as much as
they dazzle feels very rare.
He studied painting at Milan’s
prestigious Accademia di Brera and
is, at heart, an artist. But he is also a
fourth-generation craftsman, whose
grandfather, also named Romeo,
built carriages for Italian royalty in
19th-century Valmadrera, and whose
father, Felice, ran his own carpentry
business here from 1933 to 1940.
Sozzi apprenticed at his father’s carpentry
shop during his school holidays, and it was
there that he learned the skills he is eager
to impart to the next generation: “It is important to me to employ young people in
my factory, to teach them the craftsmanship skills I learned so that this art does not
die,” says Sozzi. “The traditions of antiquity
are at the heart of our creations here.”
A
Engaged in the sort of old-fashioned handwork that so often seems to be a dying art,
Promemoria’s myriad craftspeople each have
their own specialities.
nd what creations they
are: After a sumptuous
lunch, Sozzi treats us
to a factory tour that
reveals exactly how the
company melds the meticulous hallmarks of classic craftsmanship with its
own specific brand of fast-forward style.
We see one of Sozzi’s artisans hand-sign
a cocktail table made from an exotic
wood called Sucupira (Promemoria
has the largest stock of exotic woods
in Europe) and then watch as a highlyskilled addetto all’imballaggio (or
“packager”) wraps it up for shipment
using the type of care normally
reserved for the most fragile china.
We see a photograph of a forgotten
old doorway pinned on a worktable,
its ornate arch inspiration for a future
chair. We see violet-dyed shagreen being
carefully stretched, by hands as sure as
a surgeon’s, to cover a desk drawer. No
matter the spot, the entire area hums with
intent and anticipation of a creation to be
shared and admired.
A sitting room in Sozzi’s
Milan pied-à-terre features
Promemoria’s overscaled
George armoire.
T
he nearly 200 pieces from Promemoria’s
active collections are often overscaled but
never intimidating. “My pieces are masculine
in shape but feminine to touch,” says Sozzi,
who constantly has a sketchbook tucked in his
pocket. (He fills about 10 a year with proposed creations.)
To wit: Grey velvets frame giant mirrors; cast bronze, used
in many designs, gets delicately hammered until it gently
glows rather than reflects; and creamy aubergine silk
softens a decidedly masculine modular sofa seemingly
generous enough to accommodate the largest of multigenerational Italian families.
No surface in the Promemoria world is left untouched:
“Every side of a piece is worth covering, even an underbelly,”
says Sozzi, with characteristic boyish conviction. “Even if
it can’t be seen, I will know.”
From top: Promemoria’s new Giacomo Partner Desk is shown here
in Morado, a fine-grained Brazilian wood that is most often used for
musical instruments; Sozzi always carries a sketchbook with him.
S
ince starting out in 1988 with
just 15 employees, Promemoria has gone on to launch
showrooms in Milan, Paris, St.
Petersberg, Moscow, London
and Dallas. The company opened its latest
— in March 2011 — in New York City.
At its core, however, beats an intimate
family business, with Sozzi and his three
dashing sons forming the pulse of its daily operations. Paolo, the youngest, is in
charge of research and general management; Davide, the middle son, is Promemoria’s chief architect for both client
and showroom projects; and the eldest,
Stefano, a devoted carpenter, directs the
wood and carpentry division, comprised
of twenty skilled craftspeople.
Sozzi works with many of his family members, including his father, Felice, seated at right, and his
three sons, from left: Paolo, Stefano and Davide.
O
ur factory tour complete, we’re invited to
a classical music concert at Villa Mapelli,
Sozzi’a wisteria-covered home in the
Roman town of Varenna, on Lake Como.
Perched over the shimmering lake with
a main building dating back to the 17th century, the
villa comprises some five floors, all of them filled with a
combination of European antiques and custom Promemoria pieces. It is impossible not to find a comfortable
seat, but it’s equally impossible to sit: There’s too much
delicious detail beckoning exploration.
We find red door handles fashioned from Murano glass,
an indoor pool glowing in the light cast by a border of
candles, elevator doors covered in deep espresso leather
(the button panel in shagreen). There’s a Gio Ponti sofa
reupholstered in purple linen with green linen piping, a
carved limestone staircase punctuated by an eight-foot
vintage beaded-crystal chandelier and, in the very center
of each of the four guest rooms, a bed big enough for a
giant but luxurious enough for a princess. “I want to let
the bed be free,” says Sozzi, “like a boat.”
Sozzi’s Villa Mapelli affords
enviable lake views from its
various terraces.
Sozzi’s antique-filled master suite in
the villa — like all the bedrooms there
— features a bed placed in the middle
of the space: “I want to let the bed be
free,” he says, “like a boat.”
B
eckoning beds aside, Sozzi sleeps no more
than four hours a night, often hiking into the
nearby mountains at daybreak, his precious
sketchbook in hand. When he is not creating, he
is collecting: vintage motorcycles (he recently
took his sons on a motorcycle trip throughout Patagonia)
or the antique chairs (dating from 1700 to 1955) that line
the halls outside his office like old friends hoping to share
a few moments of conversation with their busy friend.
“Their shape and craftsmanship constantly inspire me,” says
Sozzi. “Their past design helps me improve the future.”
Sozzi sits in repose, sketchbook, as ever, in his hands.