When I was little, I used to look at cobblestone streets in the West Village and wonder how many people have walked there before. If our footsteps could glow, how bright would our streets be? And when new pavement gets put down, does it wash away that weight, or does it stay? The depth of history, I believe, stays indelibly within the land, concentrated in places where humans have lived for centuries.
The Profilo Chandelier by Luca Nichetto – an ethereal fixture designed in collaboration with Barovier&Toso, where he now serves as the recently appointed Artistic Director – lights up the arcade at Piazza San Marco’s Procuratie Vecchie, a sixteenth-century square formed by three connected buildings in the heart of Venice. Despite a history of damage by fire and war, the facade stands strong in 2025. It serves as a beautiful backdrop for Profilo as part of Murano Illumina il Mondo, an initiative Nichetto was invited to participate in by Venice Glass Week and the City of Venice. Profilo reimagines the classic glass chandelier for today, bringing together traditional craftsmanship and modern technology in a way that honors Murano’s heritage while looking toward the future.
The pendant drops down from a four-centered arch, neatly, dramatically, illuminating the architecture’s structural ribs while allowing the higher parts to fade in the interest of contrast. Its silhouette is formed by concentric centrifuged glass circles of varying diameters – each a snapshot of the centrifugal force that shaped it. Their slightly irregular surfaces, visibly organic, lilting and swaying in a stack of unique shapes, create an almost kinetic stillness, as though the discs might continue rotating around a singular axis at any moment.
Starting from the top, red rings of color radiate out in circles from their centerpoint, growing in size as they continue down the column. A bit smaller, deep brown rings radiate next, preparing the eye for an explosion of white at the bottom – curious circles of glass making their way outward. The spiral motif embedded within each disc, left behind by the rapid spin of molten glass, subtly emphasizes the meeting point of movement and matter. Together, the edges imply a figure suggestive of an antiquated Schoolhouse pendant light and its glowing milk glass, diffusing and softening the glow as it filters through the glass.
Established in 1295, Barovier&Toso has crafted fine Murano glass for centuries – stewards of knowledge otherwise lost. This longevity lends expertise, craftsmanship, and something intangible, shaped by the city that raised it. Profilo marks the first product realized by Nichetto in his new role, a fitting symbol of his return to his roots with a forward-looking vision. Though he lives in Stockholm, Murano remains part of his DNA: a constant balance between research and memory, experimentation and heritage.
“The prototyping phase felt almost like returning home: watching the glass take shape, colors emerge, and the light come alive,” Nichetto says. “Just as I saw it countless times growing up around the furnaces of my island.” The resulting silhouette, a reimagining of the Venetian chandelier, feels both respectful of heritage while still novel to the contemporary eye.
Stately within Procuratie’s hallowed halls, Profilo exists just as readily in a more modern space. The light of a bright, modern home would offset the glass’s deep colors nicely, promoting the refraction around the edge that naturally occurs from the thick, centrifuged discs. The simplicity and elegance of utilizing an ancient technique in a historic setting – fused with the tension and clarity of modernity – is illuminating in many more ways than one.
To learn more about the Profilo Chandelier by Luca Nichetto for Barovier&Toso, visit barovier.com.
Photography courtesy of Barovier&Toso.