Gucci enters New 2018 with a new project: the redesign of the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia in Florence, which dates to 1337 and since 2011 has served as the Gucci Museum, into a multipurpose, hyper-layered, kaleidoscopic creative space.
Called Gucci Garden, this idea is, of course, the brainchild of superstar creative director Alessandro Michele, who has made Gucci the It luxury brand since he took the helm in 2015. Michele said in a statement, “The garden is real, but it belongs above all to the mind, populated with plants and animals: like the snake, which slips in everywhere, and in a sense, symbolizes a perpetual beginning and a perpetual return.”
Gucci Garden
Gucci Garden officially opens to the public January 10 and fashion fans can find galleries filled with Gucci clothes (both contemporary and vintage), video installations, art (including a “giant nineteenth-century equestrian oil portrait”), a boutique — and a new restaurant opened by Italian designer Gucci.
This restaurant – Osteria Gucci is a marriage of minds between Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura and Alessandro Michele. It serves up Bottura’s eccentric takes on classic Italian dishes such as Parmigiano Reggiano tortellini, pork buns, and mushroom risotto in a spectacular, patterned space – without a designer price tag. The restaurant will serve “an entirely new menu” influenced by Bottura’s travels. “Traveling the world, our kitchen interacts with everything we see, hear and taste,” the chef says in a press release. “With eyes wide open, we look for the unexpected and next éclat.”
Gucci Garden
“The restaurant is a reminder that Florence has always been a center of cultural exchange, particularly during the Renaissance,” adds Bottura.
The walls of the green-hued space are engraved with gold lettering spelling out lines of “Canzona of the seven planets,” a traditional carnival song by 15th-century Italian statesman Lorenzo de’ Medici. Pink-patterned plates and stylish monochrome napkins add to the Gucci aesthetic.
Entry to Gucci Garden will cost around €8 with half of the fee donated to support restoration projects around the city of Florence. If you would like to taste some of Bottura’a specialty, it will cost you between €15 and €20.
