When did you know you would abandon your career in finance?
Right from the first lesson. When I saw Alessandro Lugari, who later became my master, clean the cement from his hands on his white overalls I understood that I wanted to be like him. After the first course I asked Alessandro and his business partner Lorenzo if I could stay on and work in the workshop with them.
You are now the boss. Do you train anyone yourself?
I have a fantastic apprentice, a 94-year-old woman who has been following my courses for many years. And then there’s my fiancée, who is my right-hand person. It takes a great deal of patience and at least five years to learn, starting from the basics, which means dividing the tesserae (tiles) by colour.
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Restoration is also an important part of your work...
I have had the good fortune to work surrounded by the beauty of incredible places, from the Villa d’Este in Tivoli, where I followed the restoration of the Dolphin Fountain, to Villa Borghese, where I restored a big floor depicting a Minotaur. Without forgetting the Imperial Fora.
You like creating contemporary works too. What inspires you?
Everything that surrounds me. I like to work with other artists, especially if they come from different domains. I created several mosaics with Jbrock, for example, who is one of the most interesting street artists of his generation.