Andrea Anastasio
Polo delle Arti Caselli Palizzi – Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte

Andrea Anastasio was born in Rome in 1961. After studying Philosophy at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, he contributed to the cataloguing of Islamic architecture in India on behalf of UNESCO, carried out research on the innovation of traditional craft techniques, and collaborated with architecture firms, publishing houses and museums. He designs furniture and objects for Italian and international companies, including Memphis, Danese and Artemide, conducting research based on the manipulation of household goods and materials that leads to the blending and clashing of languages and meanings. He is interested in the poetics and potential convergence between conceptual art and design. In 2017, he won the Best Light Award at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and Interior Design magazine’s Best Light of the Year Award in the usa. He is a professor of Design Anthropology at the made Program of the Academy of Fine Arts in Syracuse.

The POLO DELLE ARTI CASELLI PALIZZI is located within the Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples, in the historic building of the Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte (founded in 1743 by Charles of Bourbon) and in Piazzetta Salazar. It encompasses a rare educational institution that combines formal schooling—Art, Music and Dance High School programmes—with the artisanal production of ceramics bearing the Bourbon fleur-de-lis mark. The Polo is directed by Valter Luca De Bartolomeis, an architect and designer who has revitalised the institution and is also the founder of mudi, the Educational Museum of Ceramics and Porcelain. An author of books and essays on design and communication, he has received numerous awards in international competitions. Curator of the Museo Correale in Sorrento, he collaborates with museums, art galleries, artists and international designers, including Patricia Urquiola and Santiago Calatrava. He has been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Household for the revival of the School of Porcelain and the Real Fabbrica di Capodimonte, in 2020, the “Ritratti del Territorio” award for the preservation and safeguarding of Neapolitan ceramics and porcelain and in 2021 the “Sele d’Oro” prize for the promotion of local excellence.