About us
The principle
To restore is to understand before intervening. We study the material, read its history and intervene only as far as necessary. Every gesture is measured, recognisable and respectful: our task is not to remake the past but to hand it on to the future.
The company
Riva Impresa Restauri Italia has worked in conservation restoration for over a century. It selects interventions on ancient and contemporary assets with a way of working that aims at the highest levels of conservation of the built heritage, across Italy and Europe.
The origins
The company was founded in 1920 on Lake Maggiore, on the “lean shore” described by Piero Chiara, in the difficult aftermath of the First World War. In those years work was found on the Piedmontese side, among large buildings and hotels, or in “Greater Milan”. It was in Milan that the founder, Innocente Riva, entered the Teatro alla Scala, of which the company has been a supplier since 1920 and which is still entrusted to its care today.
Europe
In 1986 the baton passed to the current owner, Enzo Medardo Costantini, and the work extended across Europe: interventions for major fashion houses — Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Pomellato — and for large hotels such as the Puerta América in Madrid.
The recognition
The works carried out are today a reference point for historical and conservation restoration: from the monumental restoration of the palaces of Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Mignanelli and Trinità dei Monti in Rome, to Casa degli Omenoni in Milan, awarded the 2023 Mezzanotte Prize for best restoration intervention project.
The method
The company’s directors, technicians, restorers and designers share one principle: the beauty of the asset must not emotionally involve the carrying out of the work. The craft stays free of subjective judgment and focused on conservation, whatever the asset may be.
Planned conservation
The best restoration is the one that need not be done: a paradox that states the importance of preventive and planned conservation. Constant care of the heritage avoids radical interventions on neglected pathologies. This is why, at the end of the works, the company hands over a preventive and planned conservation log for the scheduled monitoring of every element of the built asset.
The research
For years Riva has steadily invested in research applied to restoration, and these investments have produced solutions that set us apart today: new-generation laser systems, the anti-seismic system and the triple structural consolidation system that secures clinker claddings.
The protection
We work in the tradition of Italian restoration, from Camillo Boito to Cesare Brandi, in full compliance with the Italian Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape. Every intervention is shared with the heritage authorities and protecting bodies, from design to final testing, and follows the principles of minimal intervention, compatibility and recognisability. Every phase is rigorously documented, so that today’s restoration can be read and verified by those who come after us.
