launched the project of a distributed design factory rooted in the productive core of Italy and its capacity to create artifacts of the highest quality. They call it Internoitaliano, because the idea is to create a catalogue of furnishing objects based on the Italian way of making and living, and because the ambition is to design everything that can be contained in an interior, getting beyond classic typological distinctions and recouping the finest tradition of Italian interior design, from modernism onward.
It is an adventure with a pertinent name at a pertinent time, in the turn from the 2000s to the 2010s, which saw the multiplication of micro- ventures of self-production, designer-companies that were beginning to reformulate a vital, cheerful, positive landscape. Today, when we can gauge the results, we see that it is also ephemeral, that the noise of the choir was more powerful than the impact of the individual experiences, which surface and then vanish in an alternating rhythm. So this has been an idealistic experiment, on the part of Silvia and Giulio, and also stubbornly ambitious, preparing for combat on the terrain of not just one but many mighty adversaries, who bear the names of historic brands of the Italian design tradition, but also of the new European wave that has likewise seen the flourishing of proto-sovereignist models of self-production. Not to mention the problems of distribution, the bureaucracy that “Chinesifies” the chain of processes, but also the lack of updating of those same processes which have remained (on the upside) the heart and flavor of Italy, but also (on the downside) a threat to its timing, as it struggles to find a way to assign value, and thus to capitalize on those virtues.
Someone, whom we remember as a beacon, especially in these dark times, defined Internoitaliano as a pocketsize utopia. Those who know Silvia and Giulio are familiar with a practical sense of roots in the territory, and at the same time a spiritual aptitude for faith in things that lies behind everything that comes out of the studio on Viale Tibaldi. And the inner, political generosity of thinking that the more the better, and thus deciding from the outset to make the projects arise from a peer-basis action of a designer who has envisioned them (fifteen designers today) and an artisan (about twenty of them, at the moment) who makes them, signing these objects with a special status as co-authors.
Well, in any case, they’ve done it. In six years: Internoitaliano gets beyond the threshold of an experiment in the making of editions and becomes an international brand that takes part in fairs of the various sectors that intersect in its production, with over 40 objects in its catalogue, seen in the most important concept stores around the world, involving and therefore promoting and supporting a network of artisan friends, and now taking a deserved place in the history of design as a portrait of the best that can be put together and done in these Quixotic years.
But please: let’s continue to call it utopia.

Text by Chiara Alessi

its taste being recognized as excellent by all—has always been founded on the work of a few great architects of the twentieth century who, yes, designed houses having learned the lessons of the Modern Movement, but were also aware that our lives—understood as the physical experience of flesh-and-blood people, with hearts and minds— mustn’t be guided solely by abstract mathematical theorems, distant from our bodies. Therefore, through their endeavours, including interior design and decoration, they learned that surrounding ourselves with objects that are useful, agile, intelligent, independent and more comprised a golden rule not to be transgressed.
Great Italian architects—even before there was any talk of design, when objects were designed individually, one by one, for each house— had already begun to distill crystalline notions conceived with wisdom and “rightness”: not only cabinets and sofas, but also coffee tables, mirrors, picture frames, stools, coat stands, and many other “things”, small, yes, but absolutely indispensable for Living. Likewise, renowned Italian designers—who built our unbeatable record of excellence, “Made in Italy”—had always demonstrated their ability, by means of a personal dictionary, to rewrite the entire history of the domestic landscape, imagining every “thing” it might require, from door mats to handles, from wallpaper to picture frames.
Today’s Italian Interiors should have a balance between the things from the past, certainly not to be forgotten, and “new” things for the future, designed to be intelligent, have good taste and the good manners to be complementary to other objects we’re fond of. To nuture pleasure, almost tactile, to live only with the things that help us feel good thanks to their moderation, their shape and proportions, of course their functionality, but also for what they communicate to us via surface finishes, colors, details.
Things with which we pleasantly live our live are never those laden down with cumbersome details, bulky cultural baggage added to the basic function by archi-stars who are far removed from reality, living more in ascetic hotel rooms every where than in their own homes, which happen to be more polite, quieter and smiling. Because the culture of the “things” that around us, those we are fond of, those we have become attached to and are part of our memories, those that we don’t want to give up, that we can’t forget, is often also made up of objects that are simple, evocative, sunny.

Text by Stefano Micelli

although still closely associated with the label of industrial design, recognizes the role of craftsmanship as an essential ingredient in the production of original forms, in the innovative use of materials and in adapting to consumers’ tastes and needs. Thanks to the artisan’s work, the transposition of the project into its third dimension is transformed into quality and becomes a source of new inspiration. It is furthermore a matter of record that craftsmanship contributes to the formation of a bond between new, original projects and a common history; and consolidates ties within communities and territories.
Recognizing artisans’ expertise and know-how does not imply a disregard for the contribution of science and technology, nor the existence of emerging technologies and networks. The new artisan is aware of operating within a varied and surprising world. In the new division of labor, taken on a world-wide scale, craftmanship’s economic and social sustainability depends on the ability to perform critical functions that add value to the field’s activities and its intrinsic creativity. This testifies to the essential role played by craftsmanship, along with others, in what is known as the “knowledge economy”.
The emphasis placed on artisans’ know-how coincides with a renewal in the international aspirations of Italian Design, in particular regarding those countries that, today, are less familiar with Italian culture and specifically with its manufacturing capabilities. Craftsmanship is a key feature of Italy’s cultural heritage. Thanks to its outstanding merits, it is correct and useful that it be recognized as an ambassador of Italian manufacturing, especially in terms of those objects that make up our daily lives.
The revival of the role of the craftsman coincides with a new cultural challenge to the Italy’s industrial sector. The domestic landscape that characterized ‘Made in Italy’ in the 70s, is the progeny of a manufacturing culture that opposed the gray anonymity of mass produced and standardized products. Today this challenge is renewed in its premise. Through an association between Designer’s and Craftsman’s specialized knowledge, Italy breaths new life into a project which addresses, and is strongly opposed to, the trivialization of work and a reductionist view of creativity and talent.

Text by Beppe Finessi