The small town of Bassano del Grappa lies in the pre-Alpine landscape of northern Italy. The town’s symbols for many years have been Palladio’s wooden bridge and the grappa of the Nardini family, who have been making brandy for 225 years. The Nardinis wanted to celebrate their impressive jubilee in a special way, which would eventually pick them out not only as brandy-making masters but as a family that knows how permanently to mark its existence in the present and for the future.

They decided to make a gift for themselves, their fellow citizens and all of us – a gift of architecture. 

The man they asked to realize their wish was Massimiliano Fuksas, arguably the most important Italian architect of global fame, right next to Renzo Piano. The need to make something exceptional took precedence over the budget; money was not an issue.