Refrigerator of Art Smeg & Dolce & Gabbana FAB28R-DG SP07OR

Salvatore Sapienza was born in Catania in 1980. His passion for the decorative arts started when he was only 13 years old. His story as a decorator of Sicilian carts began by chance, when he painted an old wheel. After restoring the wheel and painting it, his father showed it to two veteran decorators. It was the beginning of a long story about art, love and craftsmanship and luckily has never ended. Salvatore began working with the decorators, Domenico Di Mauro and Antonio Zappalà, in their workshop. Di Mauro was his master and his mentor, teaching him all the tricks of the trade. He quickly fell in love with cart art and soon it blossomed into his great passion. With sacrifice and great effort, Salvatore has made over 30 Sicilian carts. Today Salvatore works in a fruit shop he took over from his grandfather 12 years ago. Who knows what he will create if in the future he finds time to indulge in his greatest passion every day.

The decorations of this refrigerator are a tribute to traditional Sicilian cart painting. On the top, a paparuni, a stylised rosette whose form suggests four trumpets, announces the epic theme of the central panel, which features a duel between paladins framed by two medallions with the portrait heads of knights. On the sides, the trinacria, symbol of Sicily, is surrounded by friezes known as visule (tiles). This ornamental motif, traditionally painted on the internal part of the sides of the cart, is inspired by the colourful ceramics of Caltagirone.