▲ Caffetto别墅位于意大利伦巴第大区布雷西亚省的卡尔奇纳托小镇，建筑顺应地形的自然坡度而建，是20世纪70年代现代主义与粗野主义建筑倾向的典型代表。
Located in the Brescian town of Calcinato, and built to adapt to the natural slope of the terrain, Villa Caffetto is emblematic of the modernist and brutalist tendencies that emerged during the 1970s
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

Caffetto别墅的粗犷之美：一座具有埃舍尔风格的意大利现代主义瑰宝
The brutal harmony of Villa Caffetto: an Escheresque Italian modernist gem

由专筑网Yinglin，小R编译

这座具有埃舍尔风格的意大利Caffetto别墅由Fausto Bontempi为雕塑家Claudio Caffetto设计。

Caffetto别墅难以一眼尽览。这座非凡的住宅由艺术家Claudio Caffetto（1942-2022）委托建造，位于意大利伦巴第大区布雷西亚附近，仿若雕塑建筑的宣言书。Caffetto别墅层次丰富，以几何形状和斜角形式构成，结合混凝土、玻璃与金属材料，其视觉复杂性与精巧程度堪比Giovanni Battista Piranesi那著名的18世纪虚构楼梯版画。这座建筑代表了20世纪70年代意大利晚期现代主义与粗野主义倾向的建筑运动，这一时期深受当时流行的后现代主义与高技派风潮的影响。

这一20世纪建筑历史的独特篇章孕育出了一些极具实验性和大胆创新的现代住宅，虽然它们曾一度被历史遗忘，但是，Caffetto别墅使这一时代再次回到了聚光灯下。

The Escheresque Italian Villa Caffetto designed by Fausto Bontempi for sculptor Claudio Caffetto
It is difficult to take Villa Caffetto in at a single glance. Built for artist Claudio Caffetto (1942-2022), this extraordinary house near Brescia in the Lombardy region of Italy reads like a manifesto for sculptural architecture. With its rich and layered architecture, a composition of geometric shapes and oblique forms in concrete, glass and metal as visually complex and intricate as Giovanni Battista Piranesi's famous etchings of imaginary 18th-century staircases, represents an Italian movement of late modernist and brutalist tendencies which emerged in the 1970s, influenced by the then-popular postmodern and High-Tech trends.
This specific chapter of 20th-century architecture led to the creation of some of the most experimental and bold examples of modern domestic architecture, despite falling into oblivion over time. Villa Caffetto puts this era back into the spotlight.


▲ 顶层画廊展示了卡费托创作的半身像及其他雕塑作品
Busts and other sculptures by Caffetto displayed in the top-floor gallery
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

走进Caffetto别墅的世界

这座住宅由鲜为人知的建筑师Fausto Bontempi(生于1935年)设计，他深受其导师、著名威尼斯建筑师Carlo Scarpa的影响。Scarpa的建筑以形式的复杂性和对几何的执着著称。Bontempi于1962年毕业，随后成为伦巴第地区城市规划部门的顾问，1970年至1975年间负责加尔达湖周边多个城镇的总体规划。同时，他还在湖区建造了几座实验性住宅和其他建筑项目。

Bontempi主要受到Scarpa对细节与材料精雕细琢的影响，但他以近乎解构主义的方式挑战了当时的粗野主义风格，创造出狂放不羁且难以归类的建筑作品。他最著名的作品包括1968年在萨洛建造的Cooperativa La Valle住宅综合体，以及1978年至1985年间在加尔达湖蒙尼加镇建造的公墓。

Bontempi的项目不仅向Scarpa的设计方法致敬，同时也呼应了他同时代建筑师的作品，例如Umberto Riva, Leonardo Ricci, Giuseppe Pergugini 以及Carlo Graffi。这些建筑师皆将粗野主义的美学融入了复杂的雕塑形式之中。

Take our tour of Villa Caffetto
The house was designed by little-known architect Fausto Bontempi (b.1935), who was highly influenced by his teacher, famous Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. The latter’s architecture is known for its formal complexity and an obsession with geometry. Bontempi graduated in 1962 and became a consultant for the Lombardy region's Department of Urban Planning, working on Regulatory Plans for the municipalities of Lake Garda between 1970 and 1975. At the same time, he built a few experimental houses and other projects around the lake.
Inspired mostly by Scarpa’s sophisticated attention to detail and material, Bontempi challenged the era’s brutalism with an almost deconstructivist take, creating wild compositions that defy categorisation. His most notable works include the residential complex Cooperativa La Valle in Salò, built in 1968, and the cemetery of Moniga del Garda, constructed between 1978 and 1985. His projects nod not only to Scarpa’s approach but also to the output of his contemporaries, such as Umberto Riva, Leonardo Ricci, Giuseppe Pergugini and Carlo Graffi, who all applied a brutalist aesthetic to complex sculptural forms.


▲ 主起居室内摆放着Claudio Caffetto为这座新建成的住宅购买的木质扶手椅
The main living room with wooden armchairs purchased by Claudio Caffetto for the newly completed house
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

雕塑这一艺术形式将Bontempi的职业生涯与他最具慧眼的客户之一——年轻的雕塑家Claudio Caffetto联系在了一起。两人相识于Bontempi为伦巴第地区工作期间。在接下来的两年里，两人关系日渐亲密。1972年，Bontempi陪同这位艺术家前往法国和德国进行商务旅行。同年，Bontempi受委托为Caffetto设计住宅。这座以Caffetto名字命名的别墅于1973年至1974年间建成。

The medium of sculpture draws a parallel between Bontempi's career and that of one of his most enlightened clients, young sculptor Claudio Caffetto whom he met while working for the Lombardy Region. Over the next two years, the two became close and in 1972 the architect accompanied the artist on a business trip to France and Germany. That same year, Bontempi was commissioned to design a home for Caffetto; the latter’s namesake villa was built between 1973 and 1974.


▲ 这座住宅由多个层次和具有角度的房间构成，房间之间通过走廊、楼梯和坡道交织连接
The house is composed of various levels and angled rooms interwoven with corridors, stairs and ramps
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

“我们的父亲在年少时失去了母亲。仅14岁时，他就找到了一份在建筑师Bruno Fedrigolli工作室担任绘图员的工作，以帮助家庭分担经济负担。在那里，他对建筑产生了浓厚的兴趣，并结识了布雷西亚艺术界的许多代表人物。他还参加了布雷西亚艺术家协会的夜间绘画和雕塑课程。”Caffetto的女儿、Metilde和Giovanna说道，目前她们是Caffetto别墅的现任主人。后来，这位艺术家进入了帕尔马的艺术学校学习。同时，他作为绘图员的工作让他接触到了当地的锡制工匠，并为他们设计了水壶和盘子等器物。19岁时，他在布雷西亚创办了一家小型的锡制工艺作坊，这后来成为了他的主要事业。

‘Our father lost his mother at a young age. At just 14, he found his first job as a draughtsman in the studio of architect Bruno Fedrigolli to contribute to the family's finances. There, he developed a passion for architecture and met numerous representatives of the Brescian art scene. He attended evening drawing and sculpture courses at the Brescian Artists' Association,’ say Metilde and Giovanna Caffetto, daughters of Claudio and current owners of Villa Caffetto. The artist eventually enrolled at the Art School in Parma. In the meantime, his work as a draughtsman brought him into contact with local pewter craftspeople for whom he designed objects such as jugs and plates. He was just 19 years old when he opened Metalpilter in Brescia, a small pewter craft workshop which later became his main business.


(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

1963年，Caffetto与Franca Manera结婚。夫妻二人共同开始了他们的住宅和艺术工作室的建设旅程。“我们的父亲与Bontempi将这座住宅构想为一个宇宙，由充满形式、材质与光线能量的元素组成，并在彼此之间形成一种动态而和谐的关系。”Caffetto的家人回忆道，“在建设期间，每逢周日，工地总是挤满了好奇的观众。由于这座住宅的不寻常外观和几何形式，完全不同于传统住宅建筑的风格，甚至有传闻说它是一座机场，还有其他天马行空的解读。”Caffetto一家回忆道。

In 1963, Caffeto married Franca Manera. Together they embarked on building their home and artist studio. ‘Our father and Bontempi conceived a house as a universe composed of elements charged with the energy of form, matter and light in a dynamic and harmonious relationship with each other. During the construction, the site was always crowded with curious people on Sundays. [Because of its unconventional looks and geometries, which were not typical for residential architecture] there were rumours that it was an airport and other imaginative interpretations,’ the Caffettos recount.


▲ 顶层工作室陈设着Marcel Breuer的“B33”椅子。
The top-floor studio furnished with Marcel Breuer’s ‘B33’ chairs
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

这座住宅的构成是多重视角与体验交织的产物；各个房间与层次之间动态地相互贯通。住宅内设有楼梯、坡道以及富有表现力的斜角房间，配备了Bontempi设计的木、金属与石材构成的内置结构细节，贯穿天花板、灯具、扶手和家具。这座如雕塑般的建筑充满了戏剧性，如同一座虚幻的M.C.埃舍尔迷宫，映射出其设计者与委托人的创造性活力。

“作为孩子居住于此，屋里屋外的生活都十分有趣，因为在孩子的眼中，这座别墅充满了许多角落、缝隙和藏身之处。但由于它从一开始就被设想为一座展示艺术作品的住宅博物馆，因此并没有为自由玩耍留下太多空间。”Caffetto的女儿说道。

The composition of the house is the result of interweaving viewpoints and experiences; rooms and levels dynamically flow into each other. There are stairs, ramps and expressively angled rooms, equipped with Bontempi's built-in structural details made of wood, metal and stone, spanning ceilings, lamps, handrails and furniture. Illusion, drama and distortion create an inhabitable sculpture, an illusory M.C. Escher's labyrinth that reflects the creative energy of both its author and his client.
‘Living in the house as a child, especially on the outside, was fun because seen through the eyes of a child, the villa has many nooks, crannies and hiding places. But since it was conceived from the beginning as a house museum for the exhibition of works of art, it did not leave much room for freedom and play,’ say Caffetto’s daughters.


▲ 一座螺旋楼梯从起居室通往雕塑展廊
A spiral staircase leads from the living room to the sculpture gallery
(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

20世纪70年代，这座别墅成为当地艺术家聚会的场所。Gino Cosentino、Alberto Meli、Berocal、Rinaldo Pigola、Franco Grignani、Dada Maino、Delima Medeiros以及Hsiao Chi等艺术家都曾在此展出他们的作品。这些艺术家的交流催生了Caffetto的新文化活动——“Caffetto艺术版画”。这一业务专注于用不同金属制作多版本的艺术品，如青铜、铝、铜和锡。Caffetto在别墅顶层的工作室中创作这些作品，并在毗邻的玻璃屋顶展廊中展出。

In the 1970s, the villa became a place where local artists met. Gino Cosentino, Alberto Meli, Berocal, Rinaldo Pigola, Franco Grignani, Dada Maino, Delima Medeiros and Hsiao Chi, all exhibited works there. These encounters gave rise to Caffetto’s new cultural activity - Edizioni d'Arte Caffetto, a business dedicated to the production of multiple editions of artworks in different metals, including bronze, aluminium, copper and pewter. Caffetto created these in the house’s top-floor studio and exhibited them in the glass-roofed gallery next to it.


(Image credit: Adam Štěch)

这座住宅目前部分空间对公众开放，作为文化活动、艺术家驻地和展览的场地。据Metilde和Giovanna介绍：“我们的计划是延续已经开启的道路，拓展这里的文化活动，组织导览，推广我们父亲的艺术作品及曾在别墅创作的艺术家的作品收藏，并与学术界保持联系，使这座住宅再次成为创意人士的聚会场所，这里也是一个供建筑与设计领域专家交流的地方。为实现这一目标，我们需要走出家族的范畴，与相关领域的专业人士及有意投资此项目的各方建立合作。”

The house is currently partly open to the public as a venue for cultural events, artist residencies, and exhibitions. According to Metilde and Giovanna: ‘The plan is to continue on the path we have embarked on, by setting up an association that can expand the cultural offerings here, organise guided tours, enhance our father's art and the collection of works by the artists who frequented the villa, and keep in contact with the academic world so that the house can once again become a meeting place for creatives; a place for experts in the field of architecture and design. To do this, it will be necessary to step out of the family sphere and create a partnership with professionals in the sector and parties interested in investing in this project.’


(Image credit: Adam Štěch)