Capri is a place suspended in time. An island that has enchanted travellers, artists and visionaries for centuries. Nestled between cliffs, scented gardens and panoramas that seem painted, it has always been an icon of Mediterranean elegance. Among its terraces and hidden corners are hotels that preserve the most authentic sense of refined hospitality. La Scalinatella is one of these: discreet, bright, surrounded by silence and beauty.
In this unique context, a project comes to life that combines aesthetic sensitivity and technological innovation: two swimming pools created by SICIS, in which the bottom was covered in Vetrite, while the walls were decorated with glass mosaic. A combination of materials that interact with each other, enhancing each other: the expressive force of Vetrite on one side, the refined brilliance of the mosaic on the other.
The first pool uses Vetrite Gem Glass Galaxy, a deep and vibrant surface, with reflections that evoke stellar matter. The second, instead, is made of Vetrite Gem Glass Clouds, in a deep shade of green that dialogues with the Mediterranean vegetation of the island. Both pools feature slabs cut in the 120x120 cm format and laid in bookmatch, a technique that allows the grain to be mirrored, creating a continuous and harmonious visual play. The final effect is that of a precious, fluid seabed, which changes appearance depending on the light and time of day.
The use of Vetrite as a covering for the bottom of the pool represents an absolute first in the sector. SICIS was the first company to propose this solution, pushing the limits of a material initially created for internal walls. A gesture of disruption and innovation, the result of years of research and development that have made it possible to transform a decorative product into a surface suitable for increasingly ambitious uses.
Vetrite, today, is an extraordinarily versatile material. From walls to floors, from kitchen tops to furnishings, from external facades to shower trays, up to - as in this case - the bottom of swimming pools. Each new application has been made possible by tests, improvements, trials in extreme conditions. And each new application has brought with it a further degree of perfection.
The technical characteristics of Vetrite make it ideal for use in humid environments and in continuous contact with water. It is resistant to humidity, chemical agents, UV rays, temperature changes, breakages. It does not discolour, does not deform, does not alter. It offers a compact, hygienic, safe surface, and is available in a range of over 300 colours and finishes. A material that allows you to design with total creative freedom, without compromise. The bookmatch installation was the key to maximising the design of the slabs, obtaining a visually impactful result, but never excessive. The pool bottom thus becomes a landscape to explore, an element that dialogues with the water and the architecture, giving life to a new sensorial dimension.
Next to Vetrite, the mosaic of the walls completes the composition with refined details and a brightness all its own. The contrast between the two surfaces - thin and compact glass for the bottom, three-dimensional and luminous mosaic for the walls - creates a perfect balance. Each element is designed to accompany the other, reinforcing the aesthetic impact and improving the visual and spatial experience.
However, the evolution does not stop there. After exploring the potential of Vetrite in pool bottoms, the next step was natural: to create pools in backlit Vetrite. A choice that transforms the surface into a light source, capable of modifying the atmosphere, making the water even more spectacular and opening up new design possibilities. The light is no longer reflected on the water: it comes from below, passes through the sheet, expands.
The project for the pools at Scalinatella is a concrete example of how the material, when accompanied by research, vision and attention to detail, can go beyond the boundaries of the usual. It is a demonstration of what can happen when the natural beauty of a place meets the strength of innovation. A dialogue between past and future, between tradition and experimentation, which finds its new language in the surface of water - and in what supports it.
