Built over the course of a decade (1722-1732), the Scuderie Quirinale, together with the Palazzo Quirinale and the Palazzo della Consulta, forms the boundary of the extraordinary urban space at the centre of which is the fountain with the statues of the Dioscuri and the obelisk found in the 19th century near the Mausoleum of Augustus. The Scuderie del Quirinale building retained its original function as a coach house and horse stables until 1938, when it was converted into a garage. In 1998, following a public competition, Gae Aulenti was commissioned to renovate this 18th century building, which was opened to the public in 1999 as a new space for major art exhibitions. "The Scuderie del Quirinale expressed itself through spatiality, and this had to be preserved" Gae Aulenti
So as not to damage the original structures, the two large galleries on the first and second floors have been fitted with a series of plasterboard counter walls on which the works are displayed and which conceal the sophisticated network of air conditioning, security and lighting design systems. 270 lighting baskets designed by Gae Aulenti with lighting designer Piero Castiglioni, a fixture created for the Palazzo Grassi project in Venice. A system of curtains controls daylight. A single system of luminaires with a metal structure to house several halogen sources, adjustable, positioned on the architectural chains, on the wall, unifies the exhibition spaces, ensures flexibility in setting up temporary exhibitions, and becomes an integral part of the exhibition design.
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
Gae Aulenti Associated
Photo Courtesy:
iGuzzini
Year:
2000
Built over the course of a decade (1722-1732), the Scuderie Quirinale, together with the Palazzo Quirinale and the Palazzo della Consulta, forms the boundary of the extraordinary urban space at the centre of which is the fountain with the statues of the Dioscuri and the obelisk found in the 19th century near the Mausoleum of Augustus. The Scuderie del Quirinale building retained its original function as a coach house and horse stables until 1938, when it was converted into a garage. In 1998, following a public competition, Gae Aulenti was commissioned to renovate this 18th century building, which was opened to the public in 1999 as a new space for major art exhibitions. "The Scuderie del Quirinale expressed itself through spatiality, and this had to be preserved" Gae Aulenti
So as not to damage the original structures, the two large galleries on the first and second floors have been fitted with a series of plasterboard counter walls on which the works are displayed and which conceal the sophisticated network of air conditioning, security and lighting design systems. 270 lighting baskets designed by Gae Aulenti with lighting designer Piero Castiglioni, a fixture created for the Palazzo Grassi project in Venice. A system of curtains controls daylight. A single system of luminaires with a metal structure to house several halogen sources, adjustable, positioned on the architectural chains, on the wall, unifies the exhibition spaces, ensures flexibility in setting up temporary exhibitions, and becomes an integral part of the exhibition design.
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
Gae Aulenti Associated
Photo Courtesy:
iGuzzini
Year:
2000
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
