04/14/2022
Tomba Brion
1968-1978
San Vito d'Altivole
This is something of a pilgrimage for us. Not only are we on a site visit, but we are in the region that one of our favorite architects, Carlo Scarpa, lived and practiced.
Balancing old and new, bending form toward utility, Scarpa has inspired and taught us for years, and the influence is apparent if you know what to look for.
The tomb holds members of the Brion family, founders of the Brionvega company of electronic housewares. The overall plan includes a chapel with an altar, a private lawn and tomb for the founders of the family business, a smaller tomb for their children, a pavilion for contemplation surrounded by water, and many specific views and paths throughout.
We have far too many images to show here, but after having visited many of his works in this part of north eastern Italy, the scale and intimacy of this one, called Brion Cemetery in English, is his most powerful.
Photographs only show one point of view, for as we learned, when in a space designed by Scarpa, try and look behind, or under, or inside a surface or object to see how deeply detailed he brought the design. Little rewards and bits of functional hardware are everywhere.
Scarpa and his wife are buried in an adjacent location. He chose to be entombed in the manner of a medieval knight- wrapped in simple linen and standing straight up in the ground.
