What sets a cocktail bar apart from a regular bar? Without a doubt, the atmosphere in which you enjoy your favorite drinks.
Santo is a venue housed in a 19th-century building in the heart of the Chiaia district of Naples, on Via Bisignano—an area vibrant with nightlife.
From the outset, the clients’ request was clear: they wanted a space with an eye-catching, elegant, and fresh interior design, yet one that also embodied the distinctive traits of Neapolitan culture and architectural tradition. The challenge, then, was to merge these two intentions into a single concept—through both the design of the custom furnishings and the use of refined materials.
From a design perspective, and in response to the rectangular floor plan—narrow and elongated—the layout plays on contrast: along one long side, floral wallpaper, pastel-toned green ceramic tiles, electro-colored aluminum arches, mirrors, and LED lighting; on the other side, exposed tuff stone walls and marble cladding used for both the bar counter and the built-in bench at the rear of the space.
Two souls, coexisting in harmony while facing each other within the same environment. Two sides of the same coin, ideally linked through the circularity of time by nature—reinterpreted in the ceiling design: a delicate suspended metal mesh against a black background, hosting both lighting and hanging plants—nature itself.
The venue’s custom furnishings—specifically the shelving unit and bottle display—are also designed to be both mirrored and complementary. One is generated from the other by subtracting and shifting a shape (the bottle display) from a larger volume (the bookshelf). They share the same materials, yet differ in their internal finishes: marble for the bottle racks; antiqued mirrors for the bookshelf, evoking the transformation of a once singular element into a now threefold composition.
"Santo!" That’s what came to everyone’s mind—and what better name for a concept bar in Naples?
