In the centre of Arzignano, in the province of Vicenza, a symbolic and familiar space has been given a new lease of life. The historic Caffè Nazionale has reopened its doors thanks to the intervention of the AMAA studio, which has transformed the premises into a refined exercise in sensitive architecture, capable of retaining the past while projecting it forward. The project, led by Marcello Galiotto, is much more than a simple restoration: it is a poetic interpretation of the place, in which the café becomes an extension of public space, a physical and mental threshold between the city and the self.
The very material of the intervention conveys this vision. The wooden coffered ceiling, the decorated surfaces that resurface like fragments of memory, the polychrome mosaic floor that retains its historical identity: everything contributes to creating an atmosphere where time is not erased, but reinterpreted.
At the heart of the architectural narrative is the theme of the threshold, explored intensely by AMAA through two pivoting doors equipped with the FritsJurgens system. The first, made of textured iron with a warm finish and faceted shape, opens outwards with an almost sculptural presence, evoking the industrial entrances that once animated the area. It is not a simple door, but a decisive architectural gesture that rejects the predictable transparency of glass to affirm a clear, almost ritualistic choice: those who enter symbolically leave something behind. The fluid and silent movement of the door accentuates this moment of passage, transforming it into a dance, an emotional as well as spatial transition.
The second threshold is hidden inside, where the café opens onto a birch garden, almost unreal in its tranquillity. Here too, the passage is entrusted to a large but light micro-perforated aluminium pivot door, which extends beyond its function and becomes a continuous architectural element. Its undulating surface accompanies the gaze along the wall, creating a fluid relationship between the different areas of the café. Aluminium is also found in the tall wall units behind the counter, establishing a material and visual thread that unites without standardising.
Light plays an essential role. It filters delicately through micro-perforations, coming from a hidden window overlooking the garden, creating unexpected flashes and diffused intimacy, especially during the milder seasons. Here too, the threshold is not just a function, but a story. The doorway becomes an invitation: to cross over, to leave the noise behind, to reconnect with one’s inner time.
The new Caffè Nazionale is the result of a project that combines craftsmanship and research, in which every gesture is designed to enhance the genius loci. Columns, capitals, arches and frescoes coexist with new surfaces in a delicate and profound balance. This is not just a simple bar, but an open, permeable place where the architecture itself becomes an experience. An extension of the square, of the city, but also of the intimate space that each visitor carries with them.
In this project, the concept of the threshold takes on a highly symbolic role: crossing it means making a small but significant gesture of transformation. It is precisely in this attention to passage, to detail, to the fluid rhythm between interior and exterior, that the strength of AMAA’s intervention lies. A work that does not impose, but accompanies; that does not erase, but reworks. Where every open door is an invitation to the future, but with the awareness of those who know where they come from.
Photo Credits: Mikael Olsson
