British Vogue - 08.2019

S

icily is an abundant place,” says jeweller Fabio Salini,

who retreats to his villa in the historic city of Noto

in the southeast corner of the Mediterranean island

as often as possible. “The food is fantastic because

the ingredients – fish, vegetables, cheese – are fantastic. It’s

wealthy in produce and in spirit. The lifestyle is totally the

opposite of my life and work in Rome and London.”

As well as his eponymous Roman atelier, Salini has a bijou

salon just off the Fulham Road in southwest London – in a

building that originally housed the artisans who worked on

the interiors of Buckingham Palace. His clientele is equally

rarefied and discerning, though they seek him out for creations

that combine beauty with bravura and boldness rather than

more traditional or classical

splendour. “I consider jewellery

to be an expression of art. It

has to be based not just on an

aesthetic achievement but also on

concept,” says Salini, who cut his

teeth fashioning spectacular

baubles for the likes of Bulgari

and Cartier, and continued to

design for major houses after

opening his swish atelier in Rome

in 2004. “I’ve tried to be different

right from the beginning, to find

my own style and to express

something original.” >

Sicilian story

Jewellery designer Fabio Salini’s island bolthole

is the perfect marriage of modernism and tradition, finds

Talib Choudhry. Photographs by Matthieu Salvaing

Above, from top: Fabio

Salini by the pool at

his holiday villa

overlooking Noto; the

jeweller worked with

an architect to design

the unapologetically

modernist house.

Right: a few of Salini’s

designs. Far right: the

line of trees along one

side of the house can

be illuminated at

night. Sittings editor:

Gianluca Longo

“It’s a strong

exchange

between

inside and

outside... The

idea is that

nature is

coming inside

the house”

LIVING

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