The cabin class veranda, above right, is as space-age as the restaurant, with a simple, almost monochrome colour palette, and a dada-esque mural on the right wall. The organic, flowing form of the ceiling and pillars brings to mind the interior of a cave – albeit a cave designed by an Italian architect in the 60s! These organic shapes cast in white also bring to mind interiors from 2001: Space Odyssey or Star Wars (both released after the build of Raffaello), suggesting the worldwide influence of the space race. The image above shows the beautiful first class restaurant on Raffaello, spanning the width of the ship.

The first class restaurant, and the cabin class veranda, on Raffaello – courtesy of Project Michelangelo The modern, metallic design of the ballroom is carried through to the bar, with the same silver-clad pillars, and smaller versions of the ballroom’s grand tubular chandeliers.

The walls of the bar are adorned with artworks that appear as a series. The same seating is present in the first class Grand Bar, albeit in varying shades of brown. The first-class Grand Bar on Raffaello – courtesy of Project Michelangelo Behind the stage for the orchestra is a large decorative mural, the most colourful element in the space. The furniture is simple, with clean-lined pale yellow sofas situated around a large dancing area, clearly the focal point of the room. In their place is a striking metallic modernism, with tubular glass chandeliers suspended from large metal beams. While identical in size and shape, spanning the width of the ship, gone here are the William Morris-inspired textiles and art deco elements. The two images above of the first class ballroom show how different the area is to that on board Michelangelo. The first-class ballroom on Raffaello – courtesy of Project Michelangelo The artworks take precedence here, with two mermaid statues from Alessandra Busiri Vici, and a large bas-relief from Francesco Coccia depicting the life and artistic journey of the ship’s namesake. The first class foyer on Raffaello, as shown above, is a grand entrance to the ship, with dark wood flooring flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows on either side. The first-class foyer on Raffaello – courtesy of Project Michelangelo

Star wars ship interiors