Italian mosaic artist Anna Paola Franceschi has spent more than three decades creating and restoring mosaics. In the “Albania is Biodiversity” campaign, she brings her deep knowledge to a work that reimagines the language of monumental mosaics by placing the country’s wildlife at its center.
Could you tell us about your background?
I was born and raised in Rome, a city that deeply shaped who I am. After completing classical studies in high school, I was already certain that my future would be connected to art. I began studying Art History at La Sapienza University of Rome and attended evening sculpture courses at a municipal school. At first, my goal was to prepare for the entrance exam to the Central Institute of Restoration. But after a year of working with clay, I realized that craftsmanship was my true path. I just needed to discover which material and which craft suited me best.
How did mosaic become your chosen medium?
I found a mosaic workshop that was looking for apprentices, and it was love at first sight. For four years I dedicated myself to learning the technique and exploring the materials. During that time, I discovered the incredible beauty and variety of marble and stone, materials that fascinated me immediately.
How did your professional career develop after?
After four years of training, I opened my own atelier and continued refining my skills by working alongside an experienced Roman mosaic artist. Over time, my path naturally led me toward both creating mosaics and restoring historical ones. For more than 30 years now, I have been creating mosaics for interior and exterior spaces in collaboration with architects and designers, sometimes based on my own designs, and sometimes translating the works of other artists into mosaic form. I have also worked on the restoration of ancient mosaics in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency (the public authority responsible for the protection and conservation of cultural heritage in Italy).
How would you describe the essence of mosaic craftsmanship?
Craftsmanship is the union of manual skill and creativity, of tradition and innovation, of beauty and utility. Mosaic art teaches a powerful lesson: a single tessera has neither beauty nor potential on its own, but together many tesserae can create something both useful and beautiful. A broken piece of marble alone may seem worthless, but when joined with other fragments it can become part of a work of art. I believe this idea can be applied to many dimensions of our lives.
What influences your work, and how is your practice evolving today?
Curiosity and the desire to learn have led me to participate in many artistic symposiums and projects around the world. These experiences allow artists and mosaicists from different cultures to share their traditions, techniques, and ways of thinking about art. I am constantly searching for a personal language in mosaic, creating both artworks and design objects while continuing to experiment with the expressive possibilities of the medium.
What makes the Albania is Biodiversity mosaic a special project for you?
I initially saw it as an opportunity to get to know a country that, despite being close to my own, I knew very little about. When the project was explained to me in detail, I was delighted by the chance to work on an artistic mosaic carrying such an important message about biodiversity. By reinterpreting the large mosaic at the National Historical Museum—replacing the human figures with animals that inhabit this land—I immediately felt a strong sense of justice, something that feels particularly necessary in this period of history.
