Italian furniture and passenger ship interior designer
Giovanni “Nino” Zoncada (1898-1988) began his career as an Italian furniture designer after graduating from the the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.
Zoncada then started working at the interior and furnishing department of the shipyard Cantiere Navale Triestino in Monfalcone in 1923. He would be promoted to become one of its directors later.
A decade later he joined forces with Gio Ponti who had been impressed by Zoncada’s work from the moment they joined forces during the refurbishment of the Conte Biancamano in and of the Conte Grande just after World War 2. Gio Ponti, who is seen as possibly the most famous Italian designer of the 20th century, always said he admired Zoncada, whose work was of an equally high level, but because he mainly worked within the passenger ship industry, he was not as well known.
During the glory days of the Italian ocean liner during the 1950’s and 1960’s, Zoncada was involved in the design of most of them like for example the Italian Line ships Giulio Cesare (1951), Augustus (1952), Andrea Doria (1953), Cristoforo Colombo (1954), Leonardo da Vinci (1960), Michelangelo and Raffaello (both 1965). Also the Oceania (1950) and Asia (1953) for Lloyd Triestino and the Lazio (1953) for Tirrenia di Navigazione (she later sailed as the ferry Avrasiya and became famous for having been hijacked for political reasons by gunmen in 1996 ) had their interiors designed by Zoncada.
Further more, he was also involved inwith ther interiors of (smaller) liners like several vessels for the Italian company Adriatica which operated services in the Mediterranean: Stelvio (1948), Enotria (1951) and Ausonia (1957).
We already mentioned them: in the early 1960’s, Italian Line commissioned two of the largest ocean liners to be built in Italy since the Rex in 1932: Michelangelo and her sister ship Raffaello. The ships were instantly recognisable by their trellis-like funnels, designed by professor Mortarino of Turin Polytechnic, the technical university based in the city of Turin.
The interiors of both ships were decorated with art and sculptures from famous contemporary Italian artists and interior designers, Zoncada being one of them.
For example on board Michelangelo, the interiors were mostly designed in a classical style, by architects with experience in passenger ship design, apart from Nino Zoncada, Amedeo Luccichent and Vincenzo Monaco who had previously worked on Leonardo da Vinci for Italian Line.
The first-class ballroom of the Michelangelo was a magnificent room, featuring a mix of art deco (of which he chandelier was an example), and the Italian modernist style. Zoncada also worked on this room, he designed the wall coverings, which were wool tapestries reminiscent of William Morris textiles. William Morris (1834-1898) was one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement and he was fascinated by textiles and the techniques needed to produce the effects he saw in historical furnishings. His talent for pattern is seen in a huge number of different products e.g. embroidery in furniture upholstery and wall tapestries.
Apart from ocean liners, Zoncada also extensively worked on cruise ship interiors. He designed almost the entire fleet of Italian cruise line Costa Crociere up to the 1960’s. He started with the Anna C refit in 1948 and ended with the Carla C in 1968.
One of the Costa vessels was Eugenio C (1966), their flagship and most famous vessel on the South American run. She is considered to be a truly masterpiece of Italian design for her interiors and external profile and was Italy’s last ocean liner. Also on this ship like so many others before, he worked together with naval architect Nicolo Constanzi. Together they succeeded to merge the vessel’s interior and exterior to a coherent whole. Functionality is never an excuse for poor design”” was Constanzi’s motto, a man whose synthesis of engineering and artistry created ships of unprecedented beauty.
Zoncada was also responsible for the interior work on board many Europen liners such as Pilsudski (1935) and Batory (1936) two famous Polish ocean liners both employed on the Gdynia – New York run and Swedish American Line’s Stockholm (1948) known for her collision with the Andrea Doria, coincidentally also an ocen liner Zoncada had worked on and their Gripsholm (1957).
Several ships of Home Lines like their stylish Oceanic (1965) and those of the Greek cruise line Sun Line: Stella Maris II (1961), Stella Oceanis (1965) and Stella Solaris (1953) also got the “Zoncada treatment”
For example Stella Oceanis was a small vessel, built by Cantieri Riuniti dell Adriatico as an Italian war reparation to the Greek government, she entered service in 1965 as the ferry Aphrodite. In 1966, she was acquired by Sun Lines and given a complete make over at the Mariotti shipyard. Her now more modern profile and internal elegance and modernity set new standards for Greek passenger ships of the time. Nino Zoncada oversaw the design, this included stylish furnishings from his hand made by Cassina, a famous Italian design furniture maker.
Sun Line’s flagship, Stella Solaris was his last project. Originally launched as the French liner Cambodge in 1953 for Messageries Maritimes sailing on the route from France to the Middle and Far East. In 1971, she was completely rebuilt from a combination liner carrying freight and passengers to a Mediterranean cruise ship. Giovanni “Nino” Zoncada designed her interiors.
Not so well known outside the passenger shipping world, Zoncada also was a most talented furniture desinger. His furniture designs were produced by Cassina, Italy and distributed in the U.S. by Altamira New York. Among his most impressive furniture designs are his iconic and richly upholstered lounge chairs with high, curved arm rests and his small wooden tables with marble bases. Nowadays, Zoncada furniture can still be found and is widely sought after by collectors. Several firms have pieces in their collection for sale.
Together with Gio Ponti and Gustavo Pulitzer Finali, Nino Zoncada was one of the big three of Italian passenger ship interior designers. His work shows spaces without much adornment, with colorful furniture often often designed by Zoncada himself. If he used a specific theme, he detailed it by adding artwork like murals, paintings and tapestries.
© 2003-2023 Cruise ship Odyssey, Paul Timmerman. All text and photographs (unless stated otherwise). All Rights Reserved.
