Yellow, blue and red: Sicily comes to Milan

Visca Restaurant, a small gourmet eatery close to the Bocconi University in Milan, was recently renovated as part of a project led by architects Annalisa Grasselli and Matteo Rota from MARGstudio. The restaurant’s interior design gives diners a taste of Sicily and complements the delicious offerings on the themed menu.

“We imagined the space as the ideal setting for a gastronomic experience surrounded by traditional Sicilian colours and sensations,” said Annalisa Grasselli of the project. In addition, the architects used stylistic features to separate the various areas of the restaurant and differentiate the technical and cooking spaces from the dining area.

To fulfil the clients’ wishes, the architects drew from their firm’s many years of experience in the food service and retail sectors and used interior design tools such as colours, textures and materials to bring a touch of Sicily to this small Milanese restaurant.

Colour played a vital role in achieving the design goals. “The chosen colours were the typical hues of Sicily — dark, deep reds, mustard yellows and dark blues,” explains Annalisa Grasselli. “The use of well-defined colours allowed us to create a highly authentic ambience that enhances the customers’ culinary experience.”

The originality of the project owes much to MARGstudio’s skill in modernising traditional Sicilian details and blending them with Milan’s metropolitan spirit.

As always, materials were an important tool for taking the interior design project to the next level, particularly the terrazzo-style floor tiles which amalgamated different colours and styles and made for a coherent and homogeneous project.

As Annalisa Grasselli explains, to achieve this balance the architects chose Drops from the ABK Group’s vintage-flavoured Play series: “ABK’s collection proved to be the ideal material for our project. The texture of the ceramic tiles is reminiscent of the old terrazzo tiles found on Sicilian terraces and in Milanese interiors, while the yellow, red and light blue colour palette complements that of the restaurant. The 20×20 cm size also proved ideal as we needed to use the same ceramic tiles for the floors, walls and table tops. Ceramic lasts forever, it is non-absorbent, it does not change colour or deteriorate due to wear or foot traffic, it is non-deformable and it can be easily sanitised. For those of us who work primarily in the design of public spaces, ceramic is always our first choice.”