Amid this legacy of excellence, Leo De Carlo emerges as one of the most evocative voices in contemporary design. Born in Venice in 1972, De Carlo embodies the city’s creative duality — ancient yet avant-garde, delicate yet daring. After earning his degree in Industrial Design from the Milan Polytechnic in 1998, he refined his sensibility under the visionary Philippe Starck in Paris, collaborating on projects that spanned furniture, lighting, and interiors. Returning to his native Venice, De Carlo established his own studio, where he began exploring the intersection of material experimentation and emotional narrative — a design philosophy deeply rooted in his surroundings.

It is this intimate relationship with Venice that inspired the creation of the Patella Sideboard for Arte Veneziana’s MELT Collection. Drawing from the lagoon’s shifting palette — the silvers of dawn, the greens of still water, the deep blues of twilight — De Carlo conceived a sideboard that mirrors the atmospheric moods of his city. The piece’s molten glass doors, with their irregular contours and layered Forest finish, emulate the unpredictable fluidity of water. Each surface glows with silvery reflections, handcrafted by Arte Veneziana’s master artisans, revealing a luminous depth that changes with the light. The bottle-green lacquered wood frame and softly diffused LED interior lighting complete the composition — a modern ode to nature’s serenity rendered through Venetian artistry.

At the heart of Arte Veneziana lies a profound reverence for craftsmanship and the human touch. For nearly five decades, the brand has been nurturing the ancient art of Venetian glassmaking, guided by a philosophy that values individuality over uniformity. Each creation is born from the hands of seasoned artisans — masters of engraving, silvering, and decorative artistry — who treat furniture as haute couture for interiors. Every mirror, sideboard, and chandelier is singular, embodying a balance between technical mastery and soulful imperfection. Arte Veneziana’s mission is not merely to preserve tradition but to elevate it, ensuring that every piece, like the Patella Sideboard, transcends functionality to become a timeless work of art — one that reflects Venice’s enduring spirit of beauty, ingenuity, and grace.