On the occasion of the Italian Design Day 2024, the Italian Ambassador in the United States, Mariangela Zappia, hosted the event “Italian design at Villa Firenze. The story of Edra, an Italian excellence in the world,” an opportunity to celebrate Italian design with a focus on one of the most renowned Italian companies in the sector.
Ambassador Mariangela Zappia opened the event by recalling this year’s Design Day theme, “Manufacturing value – inclusivity, innovation, and sustainability,” which emphasizes the aesthetic value of industrial design objects and the quality of materials used, blending tradition, technology, and sustainability. She stated, “Since the post-war period, Italian design has promoted Made in Italy. That myth of beauty and well-made that Villa Firenze Contemporanea wants to represent concretely, demonstrating in an exceptional context the fertile vitality of the relationship between the ancient and the new through the exhibition of icons of industrial design and artifacts more sensitive to the artisanal vocation, art, and fashion.”
Following the Ambassador’s opening remarks, a conversation took place between Niccolò Mazzei, Director of International Development at Edra, and photographer Massimo Listri, whose photos feature in the official catalog of Villa Firenze Contemporanea, a cultural diplomacy project that gathers 50 works of art and design objects from the most important Italian artists and designers, with a focus on the contribution of Italian women artists Carla Accardi, Chiara Dynys, Maria Cristina Finucci, Grazia Varisco.
During the conversation, Mazzei emphasized how for Edra, design is an artistic practice that favors the culture of the project, maintaining a balance between technique, innovation, and creativity. Artistic tradition, technological research, high manual skill, and high-quality materials come together in its creations. Edra currently exhibits at Villa Firenze the “Essential” sofa by Francesco Binfaré and the “Cyclades” low tables by Jacopo Foggini.
The conversation was moderated by architects Gabriella Vetrugno and Andrea Maggi, connected live from the Manifattura Tabacchi in Florence, where representatives of architecture firms, local institutions, and the cultural world were present.
The event was attended by Maby Palmisano, President of the COMITES of Washington D.C., and Andrea Davis and Maurizio Mancianti, co-presidents of the Tuscany-USA Association.
The conversation is part of the initiatives promoted by the Italian consular and cultural network throughout the United States on the occasion of Design Day.
