text Virginia Mammoli
photo Olivia Magris
Definitely not minimal
Francesca Guicciardini, descendant of the historic Florentine family, is a young decor painter
How did your passion for art begin?
There are two things in my childhood that led me to this profession: the good fortune of being able to spend time in wonderful Renaissance villas and a mother who let me draw on the walls of the house.
Your artistic training?
I attended the Art Institute of Porta Romana, in Florence. A hotbed of ideas, with excellent professors and a collection of plaster casts that is the envy of the most famous museums. Later I went to Rome, to an academy of Arts and new technologies.
What is your style?
Right now, I’m in love with the mix. I’m mad about Lorenzo Mongiardino’s houses, for example. Every corner is a world that tells a story... definitely not minimal.
The most stimulating collaboration?
One never forgets the first designer... Manfredi della Gherardesca, an eclectic creative Florentine who moved to London.
Where can we see some of your work in town?
The Konnubio restaurant, designed by architect Luigi Fragola, has a room decorated with huge banana leaves. I painted it in 2014, and now that motif has become all the rage.
Your favorite addresses in Florence?
The shops of my artisan friends in San Frediano, the “altana” or belvedere of the Thouar library in Piazza Tasso and La Specola, a museum with an ancient style that is also a bit clumsy.
