For Mario Helmut Gagliardi, the founder of Mario Casa Living, his family history is a great inspiration. “My grandmother”, he recalls, “had amazing taste. She lived with refined artifacts, often with an exotic twist”. His grandmother Eugenie, born Malanotti de Caldes, loved artifacts in Japanese and Chinese styles, and, unusually for her time, even planted Japanese cherry trees in the garden of their villa in Austria.
The Malanotti, an old noble Italian family reaching back to the 10th century AD, during the Middle Ages had been the masters of the village of Caldes in the Val di Sole, the vally of the sun in the Dolomites, where the Palazzo Malanotti La Torracia in Terzolas still stands. A branch of the family then founded the Borgo Malanotte in Vazzola, in the province of Veneto, around half a hour drive north of the city of Venice. There, the knightly family collaborated with local farmers, supporting them and giving them a home, the Borgo Malanotte. This Renaissance hamlet, dedicated to growing fine wine, still stands. During the times of the Republic of Venice, the Malanotti family created the unique Malanotti Raboso, a wine so intense and refined that it became the wine of choice for the nobles, cardinals and doges the Republic of Venice. Piave Malanotte is today a DOCG appelation, the highest mark of quality for Italian wine, awarded by the Republic of Italy to celebrate the historic achievements of the Malanotti family. Later, the Malanottis also owned the grand castle of Wilheminenberg in Vienna, which today is a hotel.
After WWI, the Austrian empire dissolved, and the posessions of the Malanotti were lost to the family. Yet, the ancient knightly ethos of being fair, loyal, and to contribute to the advancement of mankind lived on.
Just as his ancestors, Mario works side by side with craftsmen to create his designs, often spending long days in workshops in India to refine details. “Design”, says Mario, “is driven by ethos, history, personal experience, outlooks and visions.” Like the fine wine made by his ancestors, Mario believes that good design needs a great connection to the people who make it and, most importantly, love and great care. “Without human collaboration, the inspiration of culture, and ethos, the great human endeavour of design cannot develop to mature and show the personality and flair which makes it special and unique.”