“I spent my entire childhood amongst woodland and theatre scenery, totally enchanted and fascinated by the power that such spaces have to create new worlds and generate emotions"
“Today, my work allows me to relive those worlds I experienced as a child:
I imagine, design and stage the art of living in domestic environments.
My name is Valentina Autiero, and I am an architect”
Hills, roads descending to the sea, and glimpses of the coast, luxury villas, churches and ancient farmhouses: this is the unmistakeable panorama of the Sorrento Peninsula, in the heart of the Mediterranean. Here, surrounded by the slopes of Monte Faito, on a flat area of the cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a fishing village steeped in history. Vico Equense is an ancient town - first inhabited by the Etruscans, Greeks and Romans, later favoured by Charles II of Naples - a resort loved since the days of the noble families of ancient Rome and then European travellers on the Grand Tour, right through to modern-day international tourism.
And it is here, from this privileged vantage point, that Valentina Autiero carries out her profession as an architect.
With a degree in architecture from University of Naples Federico II and strong links to her local area, Autiero immediately chose to consolidate her roots in the area where she grew up. Vico Equense is her family home, the place where she lives and works. It was here in 2009, in the heart of the Sorrento Peninsula, that Valentina Autiero founded the architectural studio bearing her name.
Her characteristic design approach is deeply rooted in her personal history. During her childhood, Valentina spent her days amongst woodlands and scenery constructions, totally enchanted and fascinated by the power that such spaces have to create new worlds and generate emotions. Today, thanks to her work as an architect, she is reliving those areas she experienced as a child in a different – although equally emotional – way.
And the familiar view of Vesuvius – an eternally living presence, a paternal giant the sight of which generates amazement, awe and wonder – and the visual contact with its vital energy, constant yet extraordinarily different in its daily repetition, is the driving force, at once intimate and powerful, behind Valentina's design approach. The powerful ritual elements of this vision of power, grace and nostalgia represent, for the designer, an indispensable epiphany in her daily work and a source of inspiration which is eternally new and surprising in the art of bringing out the beauty in the context of living spaces.
At the same time the sea – a vital, infinite and indefinite presence, multiform and constantly evolving, intimately familiar yet inevitably extraneous – emerges as a lively and essential source of inspiration for Valentina. Thus, in the designer's architectural work, lines of perspective, objects, materials and surfaces, light and shadow, solids and voids all play multifarious roles, often unexpected and unpredictable, every day composing the harmonic plot of the domestic scenery setting. No longer simple scenic backdrops, but presences which capture and reflect fragments of life, before recomposing them and setting them on always new and surprising paths.
The intimate and constant listening to people and places represents the foundational element, the linchpin of Valentina's design approach. At once both initial impetus and guiding principle, it then becomes the narrative voice of the story, new each time, of which every project aims to unravel the plot. A tale which is in turn a respectful and fervent narrative of a well-defined but not isolated identity, which always keeps clear the need for constant dialogue, one which is sensitive and shared with the wider context in which it is located, whether this be historic, human or regional, as well as strictly of the design.
Driven by an empathetic human approach, direct and involving, and a professional methodology which is at the same time passionate and intransigent, every day Valentina turns her design gaze to the surrounding space, which she interprets with her creative, scenic and visionary strength, which is at the same time rigorous and lean, and a particular focus on the use and exploitation of sustainable, recycled and reused materials.
Over the years, Valentina Autiero has specialised in the renovation of interiors and exteriors in the residential, hospitality, commercial and museum sectors: she imagines, designs and creates living spaces, commercial and catering premises, holiday homes and other accommodation, museum and display spaces. A professionalism which carries through to the present day, ready to write new chapters in the art of designing day-to-day living spaces.
