Design in a Real World: Celebrating Tuscany’s Contemporary Creative Legacy
An exhibition at Villa Marie showcases the intersection of craftsmanship, collectible design and nature
Tuscany is known worldwide for its Renaissance heritage, but it also holds a key place in the history of contemporary design. From groundbreaking movements like Radical Design to visionary studios such as Archizoom, UFO and Superstudio, the region has long been a hub of creative experimentation. The area is also the birthplace of iconic companies like Piaggio, Bitossi, Edra, Poltronova, Ginori and Martinelli Luce — proof that Tuscany’s legacy extends well beyond classical art.
A recent event celebrates such legacy, bringing contemporary design to the setting of a stunning villa. We are talking about Design in a Real World, an exhibition featuring a selection of objects curated by Jonathan Bocca. The display is scattered across the gardens of Villa Marie, a privately owned 18th-century estate in Vorno, Siena. The installation is the inaugural event of Vestigia, a series of design-related initiatives that in the coming years will focus on innovative approaches to design and craft, in Tuscany and beyond.
Everything here lies at the threshold of collectible design, craftsmanship and contemporary art. Despite the presence of many Tuscan designers and makers, the selection is a pervasive representation of the Italian scene, thanks to participation by Bunker Gallery with Ilaria D’Atri, Cosimo Bonciani, CCONTINUA+MAMT, Finemateria, FMM Design, Pietro Franceschini, Duccio Maria Gambi, Daniele Giannetti, Costantino Gucci, Iammi, Millim Studio, Movimento Gallery and Sara Ricciardi.
Curator Jonathan Bocca is a designer himself and chose to establish a deep relationship between each object, its material and its collocation in the natural environment. Such an approach is evident in Ilaria D’Atri‘s ceramic sculptures of imaginary flowers and fruits that hide between the real flora and fauna of the garden. The Silva lamp by Francesco Maria Messina gets its inspiration from birch wood, even though it’s made of hand-textured metal with a bronze finish.
Millim Studio brought pieces from the Metallique series, including aluminum hand-turned tables that are completely monomateric and endlessly recyclable. High-tech and nature also meet in the surprising mirrors designed by Costantino Gucci, where you don’t see a perfect reflection of yourself or the surroundings, but you clearly imagine it.
Sara Ricciardi placed colorful floating elements of a face in the pool, an allegory of the fluid time we are living in. A few steps away, we encounter a much solid object, the 16.51 Table by Neemesi x Movimento Gallery. This dining table is made of travertino marble lacquered in a dramatic red glossy finish.
The exhibition “Design in a Real World” can be viewed with an appointment until 28 September, 2025. Go to info@villamarie.it for info and reservations.
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