The essay presents an unpublished work by the architect Tomaso Buzzi (Sondrio 1900 – Rapallo 1981): the interiors of the cruiser Bolzano for the Italian Royal Navy. The author illustrates the circumstances that led, in the early 1930s, to this unusual order for the Lombard designer and the result obtained: an original naval interior in the taste and style of Art Déco. The Bolzano’s furniture, made by the Marenco company of Cuneo, see the participation of artisan workshops with which Tomaso Buzzi has a long tradition and artistic collaboration in the previous decade: lamps by the Venini glassworks in Venice and by Italo Carlotti in Milan, metal furniture by SIAM of Turin, engraved stained glass windows and other decorative elements by Fontana Arte and Pietro Chiesa. Buzzi designs, selects and checks every component and material of the outfitting, furniture, chairs, armchairs, lamps, doors, handles up to ornaments and decorative elements. The interiors of the Bolzano are a rare example of Gesamtkunstwerk applied to the interior of a warship.
