From Ferrari to Fendi: 15 objects that define Italy

Historian and author Dr Grace Lees-Maffei unpicks Italy's rich design history through 15 key objects.

<em>Designed by Piero Gatti, Franco Teodoro, and Cesare Paolini in 1968</em>. From Italian radical design to a home near you, this was the original beanbag chair. It is a key example of how 1960s design experimentation came out of innovation in plastics technology. It was a time when people were completely rethinking the chair.

Zanotta Sacco beanbag —

Designed by Piero Gatti, Franco Teodoro, and Cesare Paolini in 1968. From Italian radical design to a home near you, this was the original beanbag chair. It is a key example of how 1960s design experimentation came out of innovation in plastics technology. It was a time when people were completely rethinking the chair.

courtesy Zanotta

<em>By Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, 1981</em> <br />From Italy via mid-century USA, this attention-grabbing shelving unit epitomizes Postmodern design and the Memphis style, the radical design collective Sottsass founded in 1981.

Carlton Shelving Unit —

By Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, 1981
From Italy via mid-century USA, this attention-grabbing shelving unit epitomizes Postmodern design and the Memphis style, the radical design collective Sottsass founded in 1981.

courtesy Memphis Milano

<em>For Richard Gere in American Gigolo</em> <br />From American Gigolo to Miami Vice, Giorgio Armani deconstructed the traditional man's suit, creating a more relaxed silhouette and heralding a look that would dominate mens tailoring in the 1980s.

Giorgio Armani suits —

For Richard Gere in American Gigolo
From American Gigolo to Miami Vice, Giorgio Armani deconstructed the traditional man's suit, creating a more relaxed silhouette and heralding a look that would dominate mens tailoring in the 1980s.

courtesy Paramount Pictures

<em>By Carlo Scarpa, 1932-1947</em><br />This blending of classic Venetian glass manufacture with the modernist design sensibility of architect Carlo Scarpa represents the link between old and new.

Venini glass —

By Carlo Scarpa, 1932-1947
This blending of classic Venetian glass manufacture with the modernist design sensibility of architect Carlo Scarpa represents the link between old and new.

Courtesy Venini

<em>By Joe Columbo, 1971</em> <br />This was seen as industrial designer Cesare "Joe" Colombo's swan song, as he died shortly after creating it. This is one realisation of Le Corbusier's modernist idea of a 'machine for living', attempting to meet all domestic needs in one compact unit.

Total Furnishing Uni —

By Joe Columbo, 1971
This was seen as industrial designer Cesare "Joe" Colombo's swan song, as he died shortly after creating it. This is one realisation of Le Corbusier's modernist idea of a 'machine for living', attempting to meet all domestic needs in one compact unit.

courtesy Joe Colombo, 1972

<em>By Leonardo Fioravanti, Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Emmanuele Nicosia, Diego Ottina at Pininfarina, 1984-1996</em> <br />In many way this is the ultimate sports car. Slightly too sharp to be phallic, it's certainly in your face, representing the spirit of design in the eighties. It is also emblematic of Pininfarina's huge contribution to Italian design. (pictured: Sergio Pininfarina with the Ferrari Testarossa)

Ferrari Testarossa, —

By Leonardo Fioravanti, Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Emmanuele Nicosia, Diego Ottina at Pininfarina, 1984-1996
In many way this is the ultimate sports car. Slightly too sharp to be phallic, it's certainly in your face, representing the spirit of design in the eighties. It is also emblematic of Pininfarina's huge contribution to Italian design. (pictured: Sergio Pininfarina with the Ferrari Testarossa)

Pininfarina via European Pressphoto Agency

Elsa Schiaparelli —

By Elsa Schiaparelli, 1927
Like Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli redefined feminine chic in Paris in the 1920s, beginning with her innovative surrealist knitwear. Schiaperelli's focus on surrealism is a key difference between the two design legends.

Sipa Press/REX

Fiat 500 —

Designed by Dante Giacosa, 1957 (to 1975)
Since the early 1900s Fiat has dominated the Italian car market. The Fiat 500 is interesting as it was deliberately designed as a reasonably priced car -- an answer to Volkswagen's Beetle. The accessible, egalitarian design resulted in a huge cross section of Italian society driving a Fiat 500.

courtesy Fiat

9093 Kettle (Kettle with a Whistling Bird) —

By Michael Graves for Alessi ,1985 -- Taking the phrase 'whistle while you work' quite literally, Alessi's design brought fun into the kitchen and launched a thousand imitations. It also spawned a family of related accessories by the brand.

courtesy Alessi

<em>Built in the 1920s, with a test track on the roof, this unusual building was refitted as a hotel by Renzo Piano in 1985. </em><br />This is interesting because of its transformation from industrial building to a space of leisure. There has been a lot of argument about how useful the racetrack actually was, and yet it has been retained.

Fiat Lingotto automobile factory, Turin —

Built in the 1920s, with a test track on the roof, this unusual building was refitted as a hotel by Renzo Piano in 1985.
This is interesting because of its transformation from industrial building to a space of leisure. There has been a lot of argument about how useful the racetrack actually was, and yet it has been retained.

courtesy Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, Rome —

By Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Bruno Lapadula and Mario Romano in 1937
Here, again, the idea of transformation in Italy's architecture is interesting. Built as part of a fascist complex under Benito Mussolini, it has recently been repurposed as the headquarters of Italian luxury brand Fendi, and their fur atelier. The brand received a large amount of negative press about the move.

Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

Teatro del Mondo, Venice, 1979 —

This temporary floating theatre, constructed for the Venice Biennale by architect Aldo Rossi, heralded the arrival of Postmodernism in Venice. I like the idea of an armada or floatilla, moving in to show the new way. This was a fleeting, but influential statement.

courtesy Aldo Rossi

<em>By Ermenegildo Preti, 1956 </em><br />The Isetta epitomises the element of fun that is so often prominent in Italian design. Especially when looking at the history of car manufacturing, I wanted to represent how different Italy's approach was. The 'bubble car', as it became known, really communicates that.

BMW Isetta 250 —

By Ermenegildo Preti, 1956
The Isetta epitomises the element of fun that is so often prominent in Italian design. Especially when looking at the history of car manufacturing, I wanted to represent how different Italy's approach was. The 'bubble car', as it became known, really communicates that.

Hulton Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images

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From Ferrari to Fendi: 15 objects that define Italian design