We picked an interesting time to visit Italy. As we were soaking up the wonderful ambience, the US president was quarrelling with the Pope. đź‘€ You can guess which side the Italians took!
Not all designers have degrees in interior architecture or design. But those of us who do studied historic architecture as well as color theory, design principles, and elements.
Though I did not count the exact number of ruins and churches we visited on this vacation, I’d guess somewhere north of 40. And the things I learned in my architecture and design classes came flooding back!
In college, we were tested on many styles: Baroque, Renaissance, Louis XIV, Gothic, etc. Each style and period was neatly categorized, labeled, and filed into its correct historical box.
I knew the vocabulary. I knew the periods. I knew the history and locale.
What the professors never taught us—which I learned at my first job out of college—is that architecture and design are never that “clean.”
Because here is what really happened…
- The Romans built upon Greek foundations.
- Baroque elements got layered onto Neoclassical churches.
- Heck, even pagan temples and mosques were turned into Christian churches.
- Egyptian obelisks brought from Egypt, dedicated to the goddess Isis, were placed on marble bases and topped with Christian crosses.
- Gothic churches have Baroque cherubs painted on ceilings.
We visited the Salerno Duomo, south of the Amalfi Coast, where ancient columns were left in place during a later renovation, and the new construction was built around them. Two completely different eras coexist on the same wall.
This is why when I say I hate matchy-matchy, I mean it on a visceral level. It’s not just a trite saying or a personal preference, but a deeply rooted understanding of how design actually functions.
Eclecticism is not a trend. It is not a style. It’s how art, architecture, and design have always worked from the time people painted on cave walls.
Oh! We visited modern-day cave homes in magical Matera as well!
The most beautiful spaces are layered, collected, and mixed. They belong to more than one moment in time… and they tell more than one person’s story.
Authenticity in design has never come from everything “matching.” It comes from vision and understanding.
Thanks for being here!
