Designer Fabrizio Casiraghi on the new Sant Ambroeus in Paris and his upcoming work at a Vatican hotel 

0:28Hello and welcome to the Monaco Weekly. used in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés space is Milanese designer Fabrizio Casiraghi. This is the second one, and I had the pleasure and the honor to design the first one in Milan. Because I'm Milanese, it's really incredible to work with an institution at Saint-Ambrose. If you are asking a Parisian what is the dream of every Parisian architect to remake the Café de Flore, but if you ask a Milanese, obviously it's a Saint-Ambrose. To me, it was like a dream. When I received the e-mail, when they were asking me to redo the restaurant in Milan, I was like, oh my God, I called my mother and I said, Mama, you don't know what happened.

1:06I just received an email for Sant 'Ambrose and I'm redoing this restaurant. She was like, Alitois. In many ways, you know, Paris is a world-class city, amazing restaurants, but I think it's a good fit to have a Sant 'Ambrose, you know, the first European city after Milan to have one. I think it fits the neighborhood as well, right? I think, yes. I think that also in Paris, I'm living in Paris since 10 years. And there is a lacking of sexy, good Italian restaurants. But even in London, in London a little bit less, because London is a little bit sexier in general, the restaurant scene. But the fact is that in Paris, the Italian restaurants are more linked to the trattoria, the osteria, the very typical tradition, which is incredible because it's very good.

1:52But it lacked, before Sant 'Ambrose, of an offer that can mix good food, Italian, but with a little bit of sexiness. The place where you can also go after a dinner to have just a drink. And this is very, very rare in Paris, I think. I love the way you use the word sexiness because that's also, it's not just the food, but it's the materials you use, the colors as well. The light. A lot of wood. What materials were you thinking for this project in particular? I think that Sant 'Ambrose is a brand obviously from Milan. And when you think about Milan, you think about like the, me at least, I think about a certain piece.

2:28Because you're a Milanese. I'm a Milanese, yeah. I think about a certain age of Milan, which is the 30s, the 40s, the Villanetti era. So this beautiful aesthetic of rationalists with lacquer wood, beautiful colors, dark colors, very yellow light, very cozy atmosphere, but at the same time elegant and a little bit austere. It's not like Mediterranean. It's not the south of France. It's not the south of Italy. It's Milan, which is a little bit of a mix between Italy and Switzerland, Northern Europe. So there is a certain generosity of marble wood, this river boat feeling of the wood around us in this moment.

3:06But also at the same time, a certain idea of like sophistication and elegance, timeless and a little bit austere. I know you are, of course, from Milan, but you're based in Paris. do you feel that you bring for your work always with you this kind of the Milanese inside of us? So even though you're in Paris, sure, I'm sure you're influenced by the style here, but the Italian you can't avoid, right? The Milanese. The Milanese, because it's incredible how when you talk about a French architect abroad, it's always a French architect. An Italian architect abroad is something different. If you come from Naples or you come from Milan, they have two different aesthetics.

3:45like the aesthetic is this is the power of our country that is so different if you come from milan you don't have a italian dna in terms of aesthetic but you have a very milanese one and i'm from milan and i bring my my my roots everywhere around the world i'm just coming back from california yesterday i just finished the house and it's a milanese in california i can do just what i know how to do things so it's i know how to be a milanese because i am a milanese This is what I can do. I've been having a little bit of a Fabrizio weekend here in Paris because coincidentally I'm staying in one of the hotels you've designed.

4:20Hotel de Grand Voyager. Of course, they're not identical, but there are something at the Grand Voyager here. The dark colors, the mood lighting, you know, which I think is very important to you, right? When I talk about sexiness, when I say sexy, like the first time I heard from a client about this word sexy, I was like, oh my God, like I don't want to deal with that. like what is sexy, like to sexy what it is, like having like women in miniskirts and people offering them glasses of wine. No, sexiness can be also just a way to feel better, to feel handsome, to feel beautiful, to feel good and to feel desired in a place.

4:56And this from a shop to a restaurant, to a bar, to an hotel like the Grand Voyageur, it's important to me that people feel well, sexy, beautiful attire in a place that I design. This is very important for me, especially for hospitality. What has been your 2025 Fabrizio? Of course, you're a man full of projects, you know, but do you have any particular areas you're focusing on, hotels, restaurants, or these two, the residential, a lot of residential stuff? The 2025 was good because we started a lot of new projects, but that will take a few years. Like we signed hotels, one in the Vatican City. In the Vatican City?

5:34Yeah, one in the Vatican City. Oh my God. Yeah, that's quite incredible. one in Portofino, one in Venice. We have private houses in Italy and abroad. I just finished a house in the US. And so, yes, it was a very full year with new projects coming, new projects starting, a few projects ending, like San Sanfam Rose. I think that 2026 will be also a year where I will finish a lot of projects that I was working since a long time. For example, we are working on a boat, which is my first boat, and it will be finished in the 2026. I'm so excited too. Talking about boats, the Hotel de Grand Voyager, I felt a little bit like I was in a very chic cruise, I have to say.

6:18I guess that was one of the inspirations. Exactly the mood board at the beginning. Like we, the Grand Voyager, the hotel, it's next to Montparnasse, the station. So I started with the idea of a train and then I said, okay, but the train with this thing of Orient Express, today it's a little bit too much. So let's go with something connected, linked to the thematic of the travel, but not especially to the train. So the boat is something that I love. And also, I am a huge fan of boats, old boats. You can see from my design. So yes, not just in boats, but also in places like hospitality, restaurants, hotels.

6:51Next year, I hope we talk again because I'm curious about the hotel. That's quite unique. That's incredible. When I received the call from my agent that the Pope validated the prosthetic, I was like, oh my God. When is it opening? So it's 2027, so it's two years. I would say two to three. Because it's a very old building, as you can imagine. So surprises are daily. A question on a personal level. Everybody, at least in London, are talking about Milan and how it's attracting a lot of people. It seems to me that there's a moment there. Yeah. I mean, Paris is amazing. How do you feel? Do you like living in Paris?

7:30Will Milan tempt you ever again? I was just having a tea while I was waiting for you with a Milanese friend. I was asking her, I was living in Milan now because it's 10 years that I'm missing Milan. Every time I come back to Milan, I miss Milan. I think that it's a good moment. Milan is attracting a lot of people from London, New York, everywhere in Europe, especially. It's a good city. I think that Paris is timeless. Paris will never change. It's like that with all the hope up and down of politics, instability, things. It will be always a good place to be because it's a place in Europe where ideas come and ideas are generated, which is something that I'm very attracted to as London.

8:14I think London and Paris, they are the only two cities, really worldwide cities in Europe where things come up and ideas are grown every day. Milan is a good moment. I'm very, very positive and optimistic about the future of Italy in general in this moment, but especially Milan, I would say. I hope the only thing that Milan will not change too much is DNA. because to me it's exciting to see how Milan is changing but when I bring my parents to a restaurants in Milan they are still living there they are very Milanese old style and they don't recognize Milan like sometimes they say okay it's changing a little bit too much where are we going what is the offer why all these old institutions are closing why and if we don't mind just ending here we are at San Ambrose you know about to open here in Paris do you have a favorite dish here i mean i don't know how much have you eaten i am a very milanese person even if i live in paris since long time i love a good cotoletta milanese this is like and they do so well and it's not easy especially abroad when i'm not in italy to have a very good cotoletta so cotoletta with a little bit of salad it's the best i love their biscuits as well i'm happy that they've been a salad here i was already spotting so good and it's difficult to open a patisserie in Paris, because they are so proud about their bazaar, that opening an Italian pastry shop in Paris is a challenge.

9:41Competition is coming. Fabrizio, grazie mille. Thank you so much. Thank you. Grazie. Thank you very much, Fabrizio. And St. Ambrose Paris is open now. It's worth a visit. I'm Fernando Augusto Pacheco. The show is edited by Christy O 'Grady. Thank you for listening.