On the right bank of the Naviglio Grande, a channel that runs about 20 miles from Milan through the Italian Lombardy region, the landscape between industrialized countries and cultivated fields changes. Along the historical waterway system, which dates from the 12th century, there are a number of patrician apartments, pleasure villas and elegant rural farmhouses that are still standing, along with the remains of their parks and gardens that are left with newer houses.
After you arrive in Cassinetta di Lugagnano after traveling along the Naviglio Bike Path, you will find one of the richest cities in the region in terms of its architectural heritage. When the Barlaam family undertook the same trip, they couldn't help but the Villa Clari-Monzini: “It was in very bad condition, but it was still beautiful and shortly afterwards she was renovated and divided into the apartments. We decided to move there, on the main floor of the villa, far away from the stress and in the difficulties of the big city,” says Riccardo, Simone, father. The younger Barlaam is a Paralympic swimming master who won four gold medals between the last games in Tokyo and Paris.
“I grew up here, under the frailed walls and cassette areas of the big ballroom that has become our living room, and since I had a child, I always had the feeling that this house was inviting. When we lived in Milan, I might have dared to scribble on the walls – I was a creative child.
Late at night, Barlaam invented his alternative heroes inspired by the art he is surrounded by, and the Italian comics at his side during childhood, of Diabolics To Zerocalcare. “When the world closes, I find a quiet time to draw. It is something that I do for myself, which I feel the same as I do in the water when I train. It is an isolation that focuses on my body, ease, on harmony.
Dozens and dozens of paper sheets can be found in the family house, essential material for this autodidactic drawing talent. In the apartment you will also find illustrations from the Italian children's history “Road to Cortina”. “In the high school I reproduced one of the frescoes in the villa. I recreated it in color, although I usually prefer to work in black and white.” It is part of his efforts to participate in a constantly growing audience and tell his journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Outside, the evening climbs over the Lombard landscape and the beautiful garden. The floors in the 17th century villa are now a light, uniform Venetian terrazzo that highlights the doors of the doors with a somewhat darker color. (The villa was once operated as a spinning mill, which irreparably damaged its original floors.) The doors themselves were recovered by the middle of the fields where they were thrown away and covered with several layers of paint. They have now been cleaned and left unfinished, beyond slight wax treatment, which gives them their original appearance.