When fiction becomes reality
You probably know the name Terence Hill, the iconic actor of Spaghetti Westerns.
What’s the link with Girotti, you might ask? Well, everything!
Mario Girotti is the actor’s real name, and the Gelateria is a family business located in the city of Amelia, Italy.
When a Parisian lawyer, a huge fan of Terence Hill, came to us to replicate the Gelateria in Paris, we were surprised and very enthusiastic!
He had traveled to Amelia to ask the Girotti family if he could export the concept to Paris, and Terence and his son were very excited about this.
The project: an Italian café offering Girotti’s ice creams and pastries imported from Amelia, in the beautiful 6th district of Paris.
The challenge: to provide a strong Italian identity while incorporating Terence’s western world and filmography, and to adapt to Parisians’ tastes.
When Western Encounters Italian Vibes
As storytellers, we drew our inspiration from Italian craftsmanship and what we call La Dolce Vita, while adding signature details referencing the imagery of western movies.
Our key words: Italy, craftsmanship, Dolce Vita, Westerns, desert, authenticity, fun, originality, family values, quality, and Parisian elegance.
Upon entering, you immediately feel a warm atmosphere created by the blend of three materials that bridge the Western and Italian worlds: red terracotta, dark wood, and green zellige tiles.
For the counter, we used traditional terracotta tile in an innovative way, alternating positions to create a pattern, and we enhanced it with a thick brass counter, reminiscent of traditional Italian coffee counters and Parisian elegance.
Brass is one of the main materials as a tribute to Italian and French traditions, bringing us back to authentic and old-school codes. To extend these codes, we covered the pillars and some walls with golden grained mirrors, like a filter giving access to the past and Terence’s western imagery.
As a nod to saloons, we used a lot of dark wood and wooden slats on the benches, and we designed small swinging brass doors on the sides of the bar, matching the countertop’s color.
Finally, the textured cream walls evoke sand while matching the ice cream texture, and our timeless Thonet chairs are a tribute to bistro codes while matching saloon furniture styles and colors.
Tailor-made signature elements
As a nod to the world of Westerns, we custom-designed an iconic façade reminiscent of saloon entrances, featuring a distinctive rhythm of glass windows and a deep green color, as a signature of the concept. This façade makes a strong first impression of the brand from the outside.
Inside, past an identitarian pastries and ice cream wooden counter, you enter the seating area where we dedicated a wall to a fresco illustrating the world of Terence Hill’s western filmography.
Alongside it, we incorporated back-lit cacti behind the back of a bench, reflecting in the tinted mirror as a reminder of desert imagery.
