PARIS – An old Parisian building in the most lively section of the rue Saint-Dominic. In one of the richest districts of Paris, that condominium seems an ostentatious symbol of the anti-Russian. And the same impression gives the studio of Pierangelo Caramia, architect and designer. At the age of 43, Caramia is the emerging Italian beyond the Alps: installed for ten years in the capital, he is an established man, working in France, Italy and across the Atlantic. Pugliese of origin, he studied architecture in Florence and continued with a “master class” at the Domus in Milan. There he met Philippe Starck, the most famous French designer, who invited him to Paris: «He liked what I was doing with some friends and he called me. I worked a bit with him in 88, dealing with some projects in Japan, I spent almost two years in the United States between New York and Los Angeles. In 1991 I settled in France. I continue to work with Italy, but my base is here “. Success was rapid, as evidenced by the works presented on the website www.pierangelocaramia.com: from the objects for Alessi to the Sweet Jane by Poltrona Frau, from Café Bond Street in New York to many shops in France. Why does he want to define himself as an architect first? «Because I situate myself in Italian practice and tradition, according to which designers are architects. They are two sides of the same trade, which in my case are three. The first is that of designer, that is the design of products for some companies, including many Italian ones. The second face is the artistic direction of some houses: together with the managers the basic philosophy of the objects is established, I design many things and I call other colleagues to collaborate. Finally, here is the third side, pure architecture. In this last field I started doing interesting things, such as the restoration of the Romanesque church of San Nicola in Cisternino ».

Was it easy to enter the French professional world? «I had already started in Milan and Starck at the time was part of Italian design, but our world is European. And we Italians have a record in this field and I, who was part of the new generation, took advantage of it ». And how did the language go? «I have to tell you something funny. I did the classical high school in Martina Franca and you could choose between French and English. I had preferred English, but the old-style headmaster reproached me: “A good man like you must choose French.” According to him, a certain scholastic path could only be done with French. I let myself be convinced, I learned English with private courses. Having lived two years in the United States, I am now trilingual ». Arriving in Paris as was the transition from theory to practice? “When we arrive in France, we Italians always have the illusion of speaking French well, because the two languages ​​are similar. I broke it, even though people understood half of what I said. But I soon assimilated it: from ten I teach at the Academy of Fine Arts ». In the beginning how did the French react? “With sympathy for our tendency to create non-existent words in Italian in French. But I understood that my French, even though I had studied it well in high school, was not enough and I made a commitment. For us it is an affordable language, then there are nuances and refinements that are learned over time. English requires more effort at the beginning and then it becomes easier “.