An Immersive Experience with Dodo Arslan. Castle and Foundry in Chianti
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Overview
An experience that accompanies guests inside the creative and technical process that transforms a dream into matter.
Through an exclusive journey between a historic Chianti castle and a working artistic foundry, guests discover the ancient lost wax casting technique while beginning to shape their own personal artistic vision with Italian designer Dodo Arslan, recognized by Taschen as one of the 90 leading designers and manufacturers worldwide.
Guests meet at a private castle in the Chianti region (e.g., Castello di Verrazzano), just minutes from a historic foundry.
In an exclusive setting, Dodo introduces the theme of the day: the passage from idea to form. Each guest is invited to share a personal dream, symbol, or desire to be translated into an object.
The conversation centres on meaning rather than technique.
Phase 1 — Concept
Dodo listens, interprets, and guides through questions. It is here that the concept begins to take shape.
Phase 2 — The Technique (Immersion in the Foundry)
Transfer to the Fonderia Artistica Del Giudice, where guests experience the stages of lost wax casting firsthand:
The Lost Wax Casting Process — Step by Step
1. Plastiline Sketch — The idea takes three-dimensional form
2. Plaster or Silicone Mold — Creation of the negative matrix
3. Wax Cast — The sculpture is reborn in wax
4. Channeling (Sprue and Vents) — Technical preparation for casting
5. Refractory Coating — Creation of the shell (investment mold)
6. Wax Loss — The wax melts away, leaving a void
7. Molten Bronze Pouring — Pouring the liquid bronze
8. Mold Breaking — Freeing the cast piece
9. Finishing, Chasing and Polishing — Final refinement of the surface
This is a concrete encounter with ancient knowledge.
Phase 3 — The Personal Gesture
In a reserved space, Dodo creates a preliminary sketch on paper inspired by the guest's dream. The sketch is conceptual, dated, and signed. It becomes the trace of a possible future work, unique, personal, and full of potential.
Phase 4 — The Tangible Sign of the Day
To ensure a concrete object to take home, Dodo presents a small bronze work created exclusively for this experience. During the day, the piece is signed in front of the guests, personalized with a hand-engraved dedication, and delivered in dedicated packaging. This object represents the memory of the day, entry into the artist's world, and the beginning of a collectible journey.
Phase 5 — The Second Part (Optional)
For those who wish to transform their dream into a unique work, a subsequent commission phase begins. This includes in-depth project development, technical modeling, study of dimensions and materials, detailed quote, production times, and economic agreements. The work will be created as a unique piece. In this phase you have the opportunity to discuss with artist Dodo Arslan the creation, in bronze of your unique piece.
Included Privileges
- Private meeting with artist Dodo Arslan in a historic Chianti castle
- Guided tour of the Fonderia Artistica Del Giudice with demonstration of the lost wax casting process
- Personalized preliminary sketch created and signed by Dodo Arslan based on your dream/concept
- Exclusive symbolic bronze object, pre-made by the artist, signed and hand-engraved with a personal dedication
- Dedicated packaging for the symbolic object
- Transfer coordination between castle and foundry
- Option to discuss future commission (not included in base experience)
Itinerary
- Guests gather at a private castle in the Chianti region (e.g., Castello di Verrazzano), just minutes from the foundry. In an exclusive setting, Dodo introduces the theme of the day: the passage from idea to form. Each guest shares a personal dream, symbol, or desire to be translated into an object. The conversation focuses on meaning, not technique. Dodo listens, interprets, and asks questions. Here, the concept is born.
- Transfer to the Fonderia Artistica Del Giudice, where guests experience the stages of lost wax casting firsthand (more details in Experience Details)
- In a reserved space, Dodo creates a preliminary sketch on paper inspired by the guest's dream. The sketch is conceptual, dated, and signed. It becomes the trace of a possible future work, unique, personal, and full of potential.
- To ensure a concrete object to take home, Dodo presents a small bronze work created exclusively for this experience. During the day, the piece is signed in front of the guests, personalized with a hand-engraved dedication, and delivered in dedicated packaging. This object represents the memory of the day, entry into the artist's world, and a first collectible level.
- For those who wish to transform their dream into a unique work, a subsequent commission phase begins. This includes in-depth project development, technical modeling, study of dimensions and materials, detailed quote, production times, and economic agreements. The work will be created as a unique piece. In this phase you have the opportunity to discuus with artist Dodo Arslan the actual creation in bronze.
The Experience
Phase 1 — The Dream (Meeting Point in a Chianti Castle) Guests gather at a private castle in the Chianti region (e.g., Castello di Verrazzano), just minutes from the foundry. In an exclusive setting, Dodo introduces the theme of the day: the passage from idea to form. Each guest shares a personal dream, symbol, or desire to be translated into an ob...
Why Guests Love It
“To learn from Dodo is to be in the presence of a true maestro. His ability to draw out your personal poetry is nothing short of genius.” — Gabriella, Mexico
Meet the Expert
Dodo Arslan
Dodo Arslan is an Italo-Armenian Art Designer, recognized by Taschen among the 90 leading figures of contemporary design, featured in the volume Design Now.
Alongside his work as a light, product, and graphic designer, for over twenty-five years Arslan has developed an intense formal and material research within the field of Art Design.
With an international career spanning Europe, the United States, and South America, Arslan has given form to profound values—identity, excellence, memory, and culture—through trophies and sculptures that celebrate outstanding individuals and institutions.
He is the creator of the Italic Award trophy, a recognition conferred upon distinguished Italian personalities in America by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce (IACCSE).
Commissioned by the Centenary Foundation (1873) of the Banca Svizzera Italiana, he conceived the Incontro trophy, awarded to Italian and Swiss personalities who have built cultural bridges between Italy and Switzerland.
On the occasion of the Centenary of the Italian Air Force, he sculpted Níkē, a work expressing the glory of achievement and triumph, inspired by the celebrated “Goddess of Victory.”
His powerful and poetic sculptural language is also expressed in collectible pieces such as Nove, cast in bronze by the Fonderia Artistica Battaglia; Glace, in acrylic glass, launched at Art Basel/Design Miami; and the Otto seat in carbon fiber, which entered the Permanent Collection of Italian Design and was exhibited in a world tour initiated by the Triennale di Milano.
His creations, auctioned by Pierre Bergé & Associés in Brussels, have entered the international circuit of collectible Art Design.