“There’s something tragic about this lake, immersed in magic and forests, loneliness and abandonment, countryside and beaches,” wrote the writer Luigi Devoti about Lake Albano, also known as Lake Castel Gandolfo. This breathtaking setting is home to the Vista Wine Bar, a restaurant and cocktail bar with a contemporary design and dreamlike atmosphere. “Floral wallpapers alternate with dark coloured geometric designs,” say the architects from Studio Gad commissioned to oversee the project. “The restaurant extends over two levels: a street level with a large outdoor area clearly visible from the lake shore, and an upper level with a large panoramic terrace. Inside the ground floor entrance stands a bar counter with a midnight blue lacquered front and a series of vertical brass elements – the decorative motif running through the entire project. The lounges are located on both the right and left-hand sides of the counter. The glass partition behind the display counter allows for full visibility, while the stairway leading to the upper floor serves as a natural light well.”
The two dining areas are differentiated by their colours and finishes: “The winter garden room with its open-air-style ambience features wallpaper in shades of powder pink and green with palm trees and brass details, while the large dining room is characterised by comfortable midnight blue velvet benches, brass elements and houndstooth check fabric. We wanted to invite customers on a journey to an extravagant and eccentric destination.” The Vista Wine Bar is situated in the picturesque natural setting of the lakeshore landscape. “Located in a panoramic position on the shores of Lake Castel Gandolfo, the restaurant boasts a large upper floor terrace offering a breathtaking view of the lake. To do justice to this view, the project aims to instil a sense of harmony and equilibrium between the indoor and outdoor spaces.” The kitchen is located next to the lounge area: “The completely open kitchen consists of an external volume covered with midnight grey majolica with relief geometries from Ceramica Vogue’s Flauti ceramic tile collection.” The result is a glamorous and sophisticated ambience where nothing is left to chance. “The midnight blue colour alternates with brass and Marquinia black, which is present both in the furnishings and in the marble-effect porcelain floor tiles from Ceramica Fioranese’s Sound of Marbles collection, a modern interpretation of marble in which fragments alternate with curves and diagonal cuts. We collaborate closely with Ceramica Fioranese, which supports design firms like ours by providing comprehensive photographic material along with samples. We often adopt ceramic tiles in our projects, in many cases for bar counters and table tops. Ceramic is a high-performance material that offers unique resistance to external elements, a particularly important characteristic in the food industry where worktops are subject to a high level of stress.”
