SPECOLA

A creative encounter in which the designers have found in the glazing department of Incalmi a facility capable of bringing this long forgotten craft technique back to life. It is a precious procedure, by means of which a simple copper object covered with glass powder acquires an unexpected splendour when fired at high temperature. Given these premises, the authors have looked at the history of this technique and the places where one of its most famous practitioners of the 20th century, Paolo De Poli, did his work. The city of Padua, with centuries of history in the field of astronomical research, has provided the inspiration for these lamps. The light fixtures are suspended on cylindrical elements made of untreated copper, a tribute to La Specola in Padua, the historic astronomical observatory set up in 1767. The light is diffused inside dishes of turned copper, which are delicately coated with glaze fired in the kiln at 850°, creating unexpected explosions of colour, abstract and ever changing interpretations of the vault of heaven.