Friul Mosaic restores the niches of the historic Caffè Contarena in Udine

The art of Friul Mosaic finds its highest expression in its native land, Udine, with the restoration of the niches of the historic Caffè Contarena.

Designed in 1935 by the artist from Friuli Pietro Someda De Marco, the niches are a rare specimen of Italian Art Deco.

During the postwar reconstruction in the 1950s the niches were almost totally destroyed.

The mosaics have been partially restored, wherever possible, and remade based on the original drawings for the completely damaged parts.

Friul Mosaic and Lorenzo Miani, the architect who has supervised the project, have kept faith with the original work through a process of philological research and reconstruction.