Venice Villa and Rialto: the classic contemporary design of FMG terrazzo flooring

The history of surface coverings abounds in materials of great aesthetic value which have made an impression on the collective imagination and are still considered examples of prestige, art and splendour.
Mosaic is one of the best-known such materials, the epitome of beauty and chromatic variety; others include inlaid wood of oriental origin and majolica tiles from the Middle East, introduced to the western world through the traders of the maritime republics.
All these surfaces share the same basic quality of artisanship, defined as a sublime expression of human creativity, bringing these surfaces into the territory of decoration and the figurative arts, particularly when walls and covering materials become a colour palette for symbolic tales representing the history of cultures and religions.

 

Master craftsmanship is also a feature of one of the most commonly used classic types of flooring, known as Venetian terrazzo or seminato.
With great decorative and expressive power, this type of flooring was first used in ancient Greece and Rome, though its golden age came in Renaissance Venice.
Commonly used in churches and patrician villas, terrazzo flooring was also widespread at the time of the Art Deco movement. The primary aesthetic factor determining its popularity, then as now, is its unusual colourful grains in a variety of different hues, against a light or dark background emphasising the contrast in colours.

 

Contemporary design has reinterpreted the expressive qualities of terrazzo flooring with a contemporary twist, using high-tech ceramics to make floor and wall coverings and surfaces for furnishings offering extraordinary aesthetic appeal as well as resistance and durability, with the added benefits of easy laying and cleaning.

FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti offers two collections of Venetian terrazzo flooring, Venice Villa and Rialto, " differing in terms of the size of the chips that make the material so unique". 

Designed for residential spaces, shops and offices, as well as public and collective places of all kinds (recently used in the interiors of the Arcadia Cinema in Stezzano, in the province of Bergamo), terrazzo flooring suits a great variety of different styles and atmospheres. 

This is made possible by its dual soul: its basic "simplicity" (it was originally made from scrap material, held together by limestone or mortar) conveying a sense of practicality and instant recognisability, and its particular colouring revealing meticulous attention to detail, a direct result of its handcrafted nature.

To all this we may add the beauty created by its random appearance, an aspect that makes FMG’s Venetian terrazzo flooring a highly evocative natural patchwork with a subtle vintage flavour. 

Both Venice Villa and Rialto are available in a vast colour palette of neutral hues, with the addition of brighter, more vibrant shades such as Coral, Yellow and Blue.