Italian design: it's not about fashion

There are objects, used in everyday life, that have become iconic and that still make an Italian’s heart beat fast and, we are sure, still produce wonder and admiration in those who are not Italian.

Lamps, chairs, armchairs and beds, hats, dresses, shoes, typewriters and pens, coffee pots and pans, cars, scooters and motorboats…

The list is long and full of surprises, because how could you classify the color “Valentino Red“?
You can’t, but you can recognize it with your eyes closed.

And wearing a Borsalino (1857 – Giuseppe Borsalino) makes you shine with elegance on any occasion, try and see!

Castiglioni, Munari, Ponti, Mari, Pesce, Aulenti, Sottsass, de Lucchi, Gregotti and many other Italian designers have left an indelible mark on our memory with pride we keep alive the affection for these objects that have contributed to make us precious in the eyes of the world.

Sit down for a chat, you can choose between the stool Mezzadro (1957 – Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni) and the Superleggera (1955 – Gio Ponti), or throw yourself on the Sacco (1968 – Gatti, Paolini and Teodoro): whatever your choice will be very comfortable.

When there’s no light, we can help each other with a nice lamp, right? Should we light the Arco (1962 – Castiglioni) or the Nesso (1965 – Giancarlo Mattioli)?
And if you want to write you could be tempted by an Olivetti Lettera 22 (1950 – Marcello Nizzoli) the portable typewriter become legend, or if you choose handwriting you could use a Tratto Clip (1975 – Design Group Italia)It looks like a marker, but it’s not!

If you get hungry we make a nice pasta with a Tummy (1979 – Ennio Lucini) and for coffee we can only use a Moka Bialetti (1933 – Alfonso Bialetti), absolutely the most widespread in Italian homes, that has revolutionized the habits of our grandparents in the consumption of espresso that before you could only get at the bar.

The characteristic of Italian design lies in the details, certainly if in a house you find at least one of these you know that the owners have sophisticated taste: the marble graniglia flooring (terrazzo alla veneziana, because it was typical of the houses in Venice), the bathroom decorated with tiles, mosaics and wallpaper, the combination of contemporary design elements to original finishes in historic buildings, gardens or terraces or balconies furnished in continuity with the interior spaces, the rustic touch obtained thanks to the use of natural materials (typical of Tuscan villas).

Each stracasa is finished with the care and taste for details that only the Made in Italy can guarantee. Each will appeal to you differently, touching your sensibility.

We take a ride with the legendary Lambretta Innocenti (1947 – Pier Luigi Torre and Cesare Pallavicino)? Or should we take the Vespa (1946 – Corradino D’Ascanio), that Justin Bieber likes so much, and recall the scenes of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in “Roman Holidays” (1953) or in “La Dolce Vita” by Fellini (1960) to dream a little? We can choose the car because there is plenty of good ones:

a Ferrari (1947 – Enzo Ferrari) or a Lamborghini (1964 – Bizzarrini and Scaglione)? An Alfa Romeo Giulia GT (1963) or a Maserati Ghibli (1967)? A beautiful fight between the most coveted Italian Coupes ever.

What if we rented the legendary Topolino Fiat 500A Convertible (1936 – Zagato) for a memorable time travel?

And if we want to take a boat ride we could have a motorboat Riva (1962) and feel like we are the Brigitte Bardot and Sami Frey of this era: beautiful, happy and envied by the whole world.

In short, dreaming Italian is still dreaming big. Like flying in the clouds.