For the Love of Summer Linens with Paolo Abate
The photographer opens up his Italian house for summer for ABASK and brings his favorite linens with him.The lens of Paolo Abate is one synonymous with the layers of idiosyncratic details in his native Italy—and it’s never more beguiling than during the early days of summer. From quiet sun-kissed moments to perfectly imperfect table settings, Abate’s photography captures the character of not only the people, but the precious objects that find their way into each of his frames. As Italy crept closer towards summer this month, Abate spent the weekend at the Liberty-era palazzo home that he will share with his partner, Federico, bringing his favorite ABASK linens in his suitcase to shoot in situ.
“The house is surrounded by a beautiful garden full of flowers with views of Lake Maggiore in the distance and so my idea was to speak about this specific season in Italy, living half in the house, half in the garden, and under the domed porticoes when we’re outside but technically inside,” says Abate. “I wanted to play with these pieces in the moment of organization as we open the doors of the house, to capture this moment of preparing the house for the season.” Here, he talks us through his first weekend in the palazzo and the details that revealed themselves."
Outside In
“What I love about summer—because I was brought up in the south of Italy—is water and so I always want to capture these colors. This Chamois block-printed tablecloth does that perfectly and I love how it sits against the beautiful old wallpaper and traditional floor tiles of this room. This shot perfectly captures the relaxation associated with summer: it’s something I remember about my family and Italy, because we have nice places, nice landscapes and nice food, we can really enjoy where we live and enjoy the moment.”
Studio Style
"I’m planning to make this room my studio in the future and so I wanted to play with a table in the space. From this spot, you can see Lake Maggiore in the distance through the window which really brings the outside inside, along with my precious objects, like the shells I’m obsessed with and collect. It was fun to play with how linens—like this Chamois design—might work in the space. I played a lot to understand how to use the house in the future."
"My idea was to speak about this specific season in Italy, living half in the house, half in the garden."
Paolo Abate
The Garden Table
“It’s really important to have a beautiful dining table. We are obsessed with details and so I am really good at preparing the table in the correct way. This was a moment captured when we stopped for lunch and started setting the table when our neighbor, Lella—a very cool woman with a beautiful garden—brought us 20 pink roses from her garden for the table. I loved the combination of the colors with the tablecloth, and this moment perfectly captures the spontaneity of an Italian summer.”
Prep Talk
“This is the kitchen table, where we unpacked our belongings—including my famous collection of shells—and laid out all these Loretta Caponi fish-embroidered napkins to see what we had. They all looked so beautiful just laid out there, so that was the shot! The NasonMoretti champagne coupe was the perfect accompaniment and captured the moment of preparing the home for a special occasion or intimate evening.”
"I like the idea that imperfections create many layers and these layers are always more interesting."
Paolo Abate
Sun Dried
"Italian linens are famous around the world and seeing them hang from a balcony is quite an iconic scene. During the shoot, we left our lunch tablecloth hanging on the balcony and when I saw it from the garden I shot it without touching it at all. I like the idea that imperfections create many layers and these layers are always more interesting."
