We could go on and on about Italian architect Gio Ponti's masterpiece in the Hotel Parco Dei Principi. This space expresses so much of what we love about materials and design creating a sense of place. This iconic hotel, designed in 1962, is one of the finest examples of an all-encompassing Ponti aesthetic.

Photo: Courtesy of Parco dei Principi Hotel.

The large white modern rectangular building is anchored to a cliff with majestic views of the sea. Ponti was involved in every detail of this hotel from the furniture to the lighting to the 30 different geometric-patterned tiles. The palette for the whole hotel is blue and white, drawing from the sky, sea, and islands.

Photo: Courtesy of Parco dei Principi Hotel.

Ponti designed the thirty 20cm x 20cm blue and white tile designs to be arranged in different combinations to give each room its own story, drawing on patterns from moons to leaves, while keeping a consistent palette.  All the flat tiles are the same sized majolica tile, hand painted and manufactured locally by D’Agostine, a factory in Salerno.

Photo: Courtesy of Parco dei Principi Hotel.

What makes the overall design even more interesting is that Ponti pushed the idea of tile beyond the common form of flat tiles. In the reception and dining area walls are thousands of shiny blue and white glazed ceramic pebbles embedded in a matte white mortar creating an organic texture that looks as if it may have grown out of the sea.

Photo: Courtesy of Parco dei Principi Hotel.

In these same spaces, other vertical surfaces of walls and columns are covered in ceramic tile plaques of various forms and glazes, by Italian sculptor Fausto Melotti, who worked with Ponti on several other large projects.  The shiny tiles reflect light to create texture on otherwise flat surfaces, creating modernist tile artwork that succeeds in blurring the lines between art, interiors, and architecture.

Photo: Courtesy of Parco dei Principi Hotel.