Umberto Mastroianni’s home-studio is for sale: a habitable Futurist sculpture

A new “jewel” shines on the Turin real estate scene: it is the studio-villa of the sculptor Umberto Mastroianni, one of the most important exponents of post-war abstract and informal art, and uncle of the actor Marcello. Situated on the hillside of the Cavoretto district, the design of the house stems from a collaboration between the artist and architect Enzo Venturelli and conveys the owner's artistic vision — at the time inspired by the Futurist and Cubist avant-garde movements — into a “habitable sculpture” blending life and art and alluding to the eternal dichotomy between order and chaos. The building, with a total floor area of approximately 400 square metres, is set within a large garden and comprises three levels. Despite the numerous alterations made over the years, the interiors still retain a fluid and harmonious spatial continuity, whilst maintaining a clear distinction between the different functional areas. On the ground floor are the entrance opening onto a large panoramic terrace-garden, the dining area, kitchen and utilities; on the upper level the sleeping area, and on the top floor a large double-height living room pierced by playful triangular windows and surmounted by a glazed mezzanine with spectacular views over the city.

Externally, the design features a complex yet surprisingly cohesive structure, leading the expressive gesture towards a progressive dynamic and emotional climax.  A compact, measured grey stone base brings together the ground-floor spaces within a stable, ordering shell; on the upper levels, this rationale is suddenly disrupted by a jumble of sloping planes, projections and outcrops, triangular openings and broken lines, punctuated by sharp chiaroscuro contrasts. The result is a Boccioni-inspired structure in which stability and movement coexist and in which the architectural form captures the “furor” of the creative act, allowing the (inevitable) presence of disorder in life—both artistic and domestic—to emerge. For those wishing to live in a fragment of Italian modern art and architectural history, the property is on the market for around €1.7 million.