Elena Drommi: Biography of an Artist

Born in 1963, Elena Drommi is a daughter of the 1960s, a decade recorded in the annals of history for Italy’s remarkable economic and social boom.
Italy was eager to redeem itself after the long and tragic period of war and post-war recovery.
She was born in Rome during the era of the “Dolce Vita Romana,” a time characterized by a carefree lifestyle and a passion for worldly pleasures.
She belongs to the Drommi family, known for their involvement in the film industry. Her uncle, Francesco Drommi, was a producer of some of the earliest films starring Sophia Loren and of American film distributions — including “Duel in the Sun” with Gregory Peck and Jennifer Jones — and also the owner of the company “Casa delle Conserve Drommi.”
Her grandfather, Domenico Drommi, owned a villa in Torre del Greco with 22 rooms and was CEO of Cirio, a historic Italian brand specializing in preserved foods.
Elena is the daughter of Giuseppe Drommi, one of the three “Golden Boys” who developed Anonima Petroli Italiana (API), which in 2019 became IP — Industria Italiana Petroli — not to be confused with her first cousin Peppino Drommi, the first husband of Anna Fallarino, who later married Marquis Camillo Casati Stampa di Soncino, and subsequently Countess Patrizia de Blanck.
Giuseppe, often traveling through the Middle East for oil and insurance deals, was a man of high stature — considered a patron of the arts, a theology scholar, and a sports enthusiast. He founded two major swimming associations and became the owner of a sports club, but passed away prematurely when Elena was still a child.
Her mother, Orsola Siracusano Ciliberti, of Sicilian origin, was passionate about high-end couture fashion and antiques.
Elena attended the American Marymount Institute rather indifferently, where, through classical studies, she learned to speak English.
After a brief stint studying Law, she shifted her focus to Psychology with great attention, but her true desire, then as now, has always been painting.
At 25, Elena met the great Russian watercolor master Vladimir Khasiev, an artist from the architecture faculty of St. Petersburg, whom she studied under for years.
Later, she encountered painter Marisa Londini, from whom she learned the art of oil and Flemish painting — techniques she particularly favors.
She traveled extensively, first with her mother, visiting England at the age of 12, exploring the most prestigious districts of London and the galleries of the leading antique dealers — a pattern she repeated in France, Belgium, and Germany.
She developed a deep appreciation and love for Oriental art, influenced by the fact that these countries are major importers and enthusiasts of such works.
This marked the beginning of her cultural formation devoted to the beauty of ancient art.
She decided to imitate this art by enrolling in the “Decorative Arts” courses organized by the Dotti Studio, run by Olimpia Dotti, niece of the famous actress Audrey Hepburn. This marked the start of her professional career.
She also collaborated with the Accademia del Superfluo, a renowned Roman art school founded by Roberto Lucifero, located in the Orsini Chapel.
For the Academy, Elena created thirteen large sanguine canvases — a particular red-ochre tone — each for a different room, depicting ancient historical monuments and Roman churches framed using the Piranesi technique, named after the famed Italian engraver and architect who died in Rome in 1778.
Elena was immediately noted for her skill, a blend between high-end decoration and painting.
She continued working with various collaborations, most notably with the well-known Roman architectural firm “Lucrezio”, becoming its sole decorator for projects in and outside of Rome.
For the studio, she independently decorated bedrooms, walls, ceilings, and many doors in prestigious Roman villas and apartments.
She later moved to Brussels, where she brilliantly earned her “Master of Art” diploma from the most prestigious Art Institute for the reproduction of extinct marbles and painted woods using high-end decorative techniques.
This diploma, awarded by the most recognized Art Institute, became her professional springboard.
She then moved to Monte Carlo to join a team decorating a prestigious yacht owned by one of the Sultans of Brunei.
Yet Elena wanted to fly solo. She soon began directing teams — first of ten painters, then up to forty — taking on worldwide decorative projects.
Paris, London, Dubai, Frankfurt, New York, Miami, as well as Kuwait and Japan are among the places where Elena has worked, either as Head Decorator or as one of the leading artists on the team.
She loves her work and spares no effort.
Her works have been featured in several issues of the renowned magazine AD – Architectural Digest.
While in Paris, she met the leading Artistic Director of one of the world’s most prestigious high fashion brands. She was commissioned to create paintings on fabrics and leathers for a capsule collection designed for the brand’s private clientele.
Indeed, Elena learned to paint using only brushes, down to the finest size 000, even on wool, silk, and leather.
At a certain point, she realized that high-end interior decoration was entering a period of contraction. Equipped with the proper skills and techniques, she pivoted to painting on textiles.
She decorated all the cushions of a private residence in Istanbul, which had been converted from a deconsecrated mosque, painting birds, flowers, and fruit on heavy upholstery silks.
Later, she painted stoles over two meters long on heavy silks.
Three of these stoles were presented to the then-director of the Cartier Boutique in Rome:
• The stole with “The Seated Empress and the Dragon”
• The stole depicting a “Medieval Scene”
• The stole of the “Procession of Persians on Horseback”
All designs were inspired by timeless masterpieces and painted exclusively by brush on doubled silks.
The director, formerly of Cartier Milan, praised them, stating: “Your stoles are equivalent to Cartier’s finest jewels.” He advised her to approach family-run, mono-brand high jewelry houses, calling them exclusive and niche products.
He added: “Jewelers could sell your stoles like jewelry or purchase them to gift to their top clients after significant purchases.”
Months later, Elena met Rosaria D’Avossa, owner of the D’Avossa jewelry brand (Rome-Porto Cervo). After seeing the stoles, D’Avossa canceled a collaboration with a French textile artist and took Elena to Via Borgognone, a historic four-story building with a cloister — the brand’s soon-to-be-inaugurated new headquarters.
There, D’Avossa told Elena she would fill all the large windows of the four floors with her hand-painted dress fabrics and large decorated cushions.
This began a collaboration that led to the unprecedented creation of two-and-a-half-meter-long silk stoles designed as jewel-like artworks with thematic compositions:
• “Deep in the Sea,” featuring marine animals composed of precious stones
• “Falling Pearls,” with hundreds of cascading pearls ending in diamond clasp strands
• “Rose Diamonds,” featuring enlarged floral-themed jewels
Elena later collaborated with Castaldi Gioielli Roma, producing more jewel-themed textiles that were updated annually to reflect new jewelry collections.
The launch of a new store, with every display featuring a shelf with a jewel above a handkerchief painted with an enlarged replica of that jewel, was an innovative highlight. Each piece had its own corresponding painted fabric.
A true creative force, Elena not only collaborated with brands but also created finely painted evening gowns for clients from the Emirates, Germany, and France.
She remains deeply passionate about high-end jewelry, working with Swiss jewelers and with Ansuini Gioielli – Palazzo Massimo, Rome. There too, she designed a window display with finely painted pocket squares, each inspired by and placed next to the precious jewel it referenced.
This initiative, supported by a princess of the Bourbon royal house, attracted many titled nobles from Italy and abroad, as well as countless Chinese, American, Japanese, and international tourists who crowded to photograph the display — worthy of the covers of Vogue Gioielli.
Her artistry is so well regarded that her friend Nicola Rivelli from Forza Italia asked her to illustrate the party booklet “Defend Your Vote.”
Presented to President Berlusconi, it was published for seven years in print and three years online on the Forza Italia website, with Elena Drommi’s signature clearly visible.
After this political chapter, she organized an exhibition for Germano Gioielli at the Micro Gallery in Piazza Mazzini.
There she exhibited Germano Alfonsi’s bronzes, jewelry, and gold micro-sculptures alongside her own painted stoles, miniature panels, and enameled eggs.
The following year, she exhibited with two other artists.
She presented two personally crafted seats with black-and-white upholstery featuring ancient Chinese motifs and painted a kimono, two swimsuits, and a day-to-evening pareo skirt for “Raviolina Luxury Beach Brand.”
The kimono was decorated with ancient Chinese motifs; the swim set featured marine corals and pearls.
This Margutta Home exhibition ran for three months on Via Margutta in Rome.
In 2021, Studio Diotallevi invited her to collaborate on the publicity for the “X-Fashion” event, scheduled for Piazza Agnelli, near EUR in Rome.
Elena designed and painted the fashion figures published in the event brochure (both print and web), alongside images of models wearing participating designers’ creations.
The media campaign, thanks in part to Elena’s fashion figures, was followed by numerous international bloggers in fashion, culture, and entertainment — earning her widespread praise, both in writing and publicly.
Due to serious family reasons, Elena withdrew from the public scene, although she continues to create for herself and a few friends to this day.
But will it always be so?
What we see on her social media profiles — Facebook and Instagram — gives us hope. The many glowing reviews from art enthusiasts make us believe in the possible return of this great Italian artist.
An artist who avoids the spotlight but gives space to an art that is timeless, not bound by trends, yet marks the path of true culture.
We thank Elena Drommi for graciously choosing us to publish her biography. We will keep you updated.