RENAISSANCE MAN

Renaissance Man

Edoardo Santi on his Florentine apartment and the Porsche 964 he shares it with.

Florence born and raised, Edoardo Santi has an all-consuming habit: he’s looking for beauty everywhere. Maybe it's to do with the place he comes from; the Renaissance’s most skilled artists and architects have left their mark all over the city. Since 2020 he's been behind the wheel of a Slate Grey Metallic Porsche 964 C4, a car that has proved to be the perfect tool from his hometown base as well as a way to explore further lands — however far that might be.

He’s developed an acquired taste for what makes living with a 1990 Porsche special: the senses. The patina and scent of the full Cashmere Beige interior, the mechanical symphony, or the sheer driving experience that can only be fulfilled with countless kilometres and borders crossed. Today, he's based between Milan and Florence, regularly returning to his florentine abode to nurture his growing interest in interior design. Set in a raw, loft-like space with concrete floors and double-height ceilings, the apartment has a turbulent history. It began as a convent in the nineteenth century, then an industrial and waste management site before hosting a renowned Florentine glass workshop in the early 2000s.

After being left abandoned for almost twenty years, Edoardo bought it, redrawing the layout to enhance the generous volumes, remaking it in his own image with the obsession of a collector. What's usually hidden is exposed, and his 1987 Paris Dakar motorbike as well as a selection of his cars take centre stage, juxtaposed with a cosy, sunbathed living room covered with large Persian rugs. A few design items stand out; the Paola Navone sofa and Flos’ Taccia table lamps, a design by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni stemming from the 1960s. The result is a resolutely contemporary space that still celebrates the past.

Pictures of his latest road trip in Africa with his father are one the wall: family time well spent, with a love for adventure running in the blood. The rest of Edoardo’s collections are in Milan, a three and a half hour drive away - giving him plenty of opportunity to take the scenic route - neither him or the 964 were meant to stay still for long.