If you know what “saòr” means, you must have already eaten in a Venetian tavern.
The word comes from the traditional Venetian cuisine and refers to the typical recipe used for seasoning fish and vegetables: left to soak for a long time under layers of caramelized onion, the foods acquire a special sweet and sour flavour.
In the same way as the saòr seasons foods, “Studio Saòr” adopted this unconventional name with the idea of giving a new taste to the experience of visitors in Venice, by offering unusual and innovative contents.
Postcard of Basilica di S. Giorgio Maggiore, from "Souvenir di Venezia" series. Ph. Studio Saòr
In a city (once) submerged by tourism, the duo formed by Cristina Cappellari and Ferruccio Mattia Costantini started explorations in 2014 and initially their works, designed in their free time, were the result of the desire to map the Venetian territory starting from its distinctive peculiarities.
Specifically, their first project entitled “(Other) Venetian Lagoon Islands” was a set of maps of the less known islands of the Venetian lagoon, made in posters and prints.
Their creative spirit gave life to the "Catalogo Veneziano - Chiese", (Venetian Catalogue - Churches), an inventory of 110 graphics cards that represent the churches layouts with their location in the city. This production was the starting point of a large collection of catalogues that includes shapes and conformations of Venetian bridges and squares.
From that moment Studio Saòr started creating contemporary "souvenirs" with the aim of stimulating memory and at the same time encouraging those who visit Venice to observe the city with new eyes.
Ph. Studio Saòr
When asked how Studio Saòr defines its products, Cristina says that “they are thought to be research tools that can stimulate new explorations or become a resource for future explorations”.
The architects look at spaces and places through a magnifying glass, with an almost botanical or entomological approach, thus returning precious projects that bring together design, architecture and publishing.
Pictures from "Great Americana" project.
They are now working on a catalogue dedicated to the demolished Venetian churches, which will be launched in Spring. Future projects include the expansion of the “Vaporetti” series, their best seller, and the construction and marketing of the card game "memory", with the designs of the most beautiful Venetian churches.
During the lockdown period for Covid-19 Cristina and Ferruccio dedicated themselves to the production of customizable postcards and to the development of the Instagram page "Great Americana", with the intent of exploring the USA through maps preserved in the historical archives.
