LATOxLATO, a design workshop founded in 2018 by Francesco Breganze de Capnist and Virginia Valentini, has launched a new collection of home accessories called “Meridiane”. “Meridiane” means “sundials” in Italian. This design revels in the art and architecture of the Bel Paese through accessories, furnishings, and design objects. The Meridiane collection is inspired by the sundials that decorate the façades of numerous Italian palaces and villas. The sundial is an instrument, used in ancient times, measuring the passage of time by way of the shadow cast by a tall central pin (the gnomon) on a painted horizontal or vertical surface.
Now Virginia Valentini’s and Francesco Breganze de Capnist’s catalog pays homage to the classical and Renaissance Italian architecture with “Meridiane.”
Shadows and architectural forms: These are the key elements of LATOxLATO’s new Meridiane collection. The materials used are white, tactile ceramic and which is based on the classic Italian tradition of glazed majolica pottery. Precious metals are used to accent the vertical elements – the gnomons. The Meridiane collection includes four accessories for four moments of the day: the round tray 06:45, the bow 12:30, the rectangular tray 19:00, and the box 22:15. In total, four pieces are designed to mark the hours of the day like a sundial, from dawn to dusk. With a bonus. LATOxLATO’s Meridiane collection also seems to borrow a Latin motto from a sundial found on a street in Rome: Horas non-numero nisi serenas. “I don’t count the hours unless they’re pleasant ones.”
Each piece in the Meridiane collection is made of glazed ceramic, with detailing in 24k gold, platinum, and copper.