The Merchant of Brera, Nine's docureality enters Robertaebasta gallery

For the first time, a docureality is entering a well-known antique store. The program is The Merchant of Brera, and the protagonist is the volcanic Roberta Tagliavini, owner of the historic Robertaebasta, a gallery specializing in decorative arts and interior design from the early 20th century (it is one of the main Italian reference points for art nouveau furniture and more). The reality show (the first two episodes aired last night, Dec. 19, on Nove, with a preview on Discovery+) opens the doors of Robertaebasta’s business by showing viewers the negotiations for the objects that Roberta Tagliavini buys and sells, the restoration work on the pieces, and the assignments given to the gallery (in the second episode, for example, Robertaebasta’s staff is in charge of the furnishing of a seaside villa). Roberta Tagliavini, the histrionic and salacious protagonist, is joined by her two closest collaborators, her son Mattia Martinelli, an expert in 20th-century decorative arts and interior designer, and architect Tommy Francesco Demartis.

This is not the first television experience for the gallery. Roberta Tagliavini, in fact, was the expert on the program Cash or Trash hosted by Paolo Conticini (she was in charge of the evaluation of the objects brought by the contestants of the program), while for Mattia Martinelli there are a few conduction of television programs, such as Magazine 7 on La7. Now, however, for the first time, Roberta Tagliavini opens the doors of her gallery to the television audience, with eight episodes that allow viewers to witness real negotiations and sales, including hilarious refusals by the “Brera dealer” (accustomed to dismissing in fractions of a second and often in a colorful way proposals that are not of her interest) and exhausting raises on the price when an object instead arouses her interest. And then again the meetings with the most demanding clientele and those with suppliers, constantly pressed by Robertaebasta’s staff, squabbles, small insights into the objects, evaluations on the eventual restorations to which the objects purchased by the gallery should be subjected in order to renovate them or bring them back to optimal condition before they are sold: the whole world of Robertaebasta is told by this series that is already gaining acclaim among enthusiasts and others.

For those who missed the first two episodes, they can be retrieved from the Nine website. The next ones will instead air weekly, in four evenings with episodes of half an hour each, always at 11:15 p.m. on Sundays on Discovery+. La mercante di Brera is the brainchild of Alice Lizza, a television producer and author, and is produced by Colorado Film for Discovery Italia.

Who is Roberta Tagliavini, aka Robertaebasta

Roberta Tagliavini is the owner of Robertaebasta, a historic antiques store founded in 1967, a member of the Associazione Antiquari d’Italia, and today among the most important Italian realities in its sector: its objects, in addition to the gallery’s headquarters on Via dei Fiori Chiari in Milan, in the middle of the Brera area, are often exhibited at the most important national and international fairs (Florence Biennale, BRAFA, Modenantiquaria and many others).

“The historic maison in the heart of Brera in Milan,” reads the gallery’s website, “is the place where the deep spirit of Roberta Tagliavini is reflected. Works of art and pieces of authentic value become intersections and overlaps of shapes and colors, researched and selected by the irrepressible intuition with which she is endowed. The pieces arouse great emotions in her, she does not wonder if they might please others, but frees her imagination and fantasy in the art of living.”

Inside the gallery are mainly furniture and interior design objects by great national and international artists: among the best-known names can be counted Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Gio Ponti, Ettore Sottsass, Fortunato Depero, Franco Albini, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Carla Accardi, Ico Parisi, and Alessandro Mendini. Foreigners include Guillaume Corneille, Victor Vasarely, Paul Dupré-Lafon, Jacques Duval-Brasseur. Recently, the gallery has also expanded its interests to furniture, artworks and design objects from the 1950s to the 1990s, dealing with artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Andy Warhol, Enrico Castellani, Agostino Bonalumi, and Turi Simeti. The gallery has five outlets in Milan and one in London.

In her work, Roberta Tagliavini, as mentioned, is joined by Mattia Martinelli and Tommaso “Tommy” Salvadori. Mattia Martinelli, born in 1975, Roberta Tagliavini’s son, an expert in decorative arts, has been president of the Associazione Commercianti di Via Fiori Chiari (Association of Merchants of Via Fiori Chiari) and an appraiser for the Milan court since 2015, as well as a board member of the Associazione Antiquari di Brera (Brera Antiquarian Association). Tommy Demartis, an architect and interior designer, studied at the Interior Design Institute Milan and has been collaborating with Robertaebasta for years.

The Merchant of Brera, Nine's docureality enters Robertaebasta gallery

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