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Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
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Italian design
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Italian design refers to all forms of design in Italy, including interior design, urban design, fashion design and architectural design. Italy today still exerts a vast influence on design, industrial design and fashion design worldwide. The rest of Italy was characterized by fragmented political and geographical condition, after the Unification of Italy, despite the slow consolidation of the cotton industry and factories, you could not even talk about industrialization of the country prior to 1870-80. At the beginning of the century formed the first great Italian designers such as Vittorio Ducrot. Italy is a trendsetter, and has produced some of the greatest furniture designers in the world, such as Gio Ponti. Italian interior design in the 1900s was particularly well-known and grew to the heights of class, however, Italian art deco reached its pinnacle under Gio Ponti, who made his designs sophisticated, elegant, stylish and raffined, but also modern, exotic and creative. In 1926, a new style of furnishing emerged in Italy, known as Razionalismo, the most successful and famous of the Rationalists were the Gruppo 7, led by Luigi Figini, Gino Pollini and Giuseppe Terragni. There styles used tubular steel and was known as being plain and simple. After World War II, however, was the period in which Italy had a true avant-garde in interior design. Ever since the late 1970s and early 1980s, some equipment began to be logoed by notable Italian fashion houses, such as Prada, Versace, Armani, Gucci, the bookcase became huge a cultural icon and design event of the 1980s. Modern Italian design has changed the meaning of style and elegance, stunning examples are found in the ranges by Slide Designs, Belta Frajumar and Lumen Italia Center. Italian design is borne of smooth elegant lines with a purpose in mind. In addition to design, Italy has also set trends for industrial design with first protype of the light Luminator Bernocchi in 1928. The Moka pot, designed by Alfonso Bialetti, was a design upon its release in 1933. Olivetti is notable for its office and electronic equipment designs, most notably the Programma 101 computer, Italy also is very influential in car design, and has produced some of the greatest status symbols of the century. The automobile industry in the nation is a large employer in the country. Italy is the fifth largest automobile producer in Europe, over the ages, Italian cars have been recognized worldwide for their stylishness and practicality. Famous Italian cars include the Alfa Romeo converitbles of the 1950s, Italy is also home to world-renowned car design firms such as Pininfarina, Zagato, Italdesign, and Bertone
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Italian fashion
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Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design, alongside others such as France, United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. Cities such as Palermo, Venice, Milan, Naples, Florence and Vicenza started to produce goods, hats, cosmetics, jewelry. Milan is generally considered to be one of the big four fashion capitals, along with New York City, Paris, and London, occasionally. Italian fashion can be connected to the most generalized concept of Made in Italy. Italian luxury goods are renowned for the quality of their own textiles. The non profit making association which disciplines, co-ordinates and promotes the development of Italian Fashion is the National Chamber of Italian Fashion and it was set up in 1958 in Rome and now is settled in Milan and represents all the highest cultural values of Italian Fashion. This association has pursued a policy of organisational support aimed at the knowledge, promotion and development of fashion through events with a highly intellectual image in Italy, a few Italian designers head some important fashion brands outside Italy. Among the newest labels or younger designers, the most prominent are Aquilano. Piccione, Andrea Pompilio, Fausto Puglisi, San Andres Milano, Francesco Scognamiglio, Vivetta and Alberto Zambelli. Italy also is home to fashion magazines, such as Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, Elle, Glamour, Grazia, Amica, Flair. Italian fashion reached its peak during the Renaissance, until the 1970s, Italian fashion was mainly designed for the rich and famous, more or less like the French Haute Couture. Yet, in the 1970s and 80s, Italian fashion started to concentrate on ready-to-wear clothes, such as coats, jackets, trousers, shirts, jeans, jumpers and miniskirts. Today, Milan and Rome are Italys fashion capitals, and are international centres for fashion design, competing with other cities such as Tokyo, Los Angeles, London, Paris. Also, other such as Venice, Florence, Naples, Vicenza, Bologna, Genoa. The countrys main shopping districts are the Via Montenapoleone fashion district and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Via dei Condotti, and Via de Tornabuoni. Italian fashion is dominated by Milan, Rome, and to an extent, Florence. Nonetheless, there are other cities which play an important role in Italian fashion. In 2009, Milan was regarded as the fashion capital, even surpassing New York, Paris, Rome. In 2011, Milan was ranked #4, behind London, New York, international fashion labels also operate shops in Milan, including an Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store which has become a main consumer attraction
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Italian cuisine
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Italian cuisine is the culinary typical or originating from Italy. It has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots stretching to antiquity, Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the rather than on elaborate preparation. Ingredients and dishes vary by region, many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated with variations throughout the country. Cheese and wine are a part of the cuisine, with many variations. Coffee, specifically espresso, has become important in Italian cuisine, Italian cuisine has developed over the centuries. Although the country known as Italy did not unite until the 19th century, Italian food started to form after the fall of the Roman Empire, when different cities began to separate and form their own traditions. Many different types of bread and pasta were made, and there was a variation in cooking techniques and preparation. For example, the north of Italy is known for its risottos, the central/middle of the country is known for its tortellini, the first known Italian food writer was a Greek Sicilian named Archestratus from Syracuse in the 4th century BCE. He wrote a poem that spoke of using top quality and seasonal ingredients and he said that flavors should not be masked by spices, herbs or other seasonings. He placed importance on simple preparation of fish, simplicity was abandoned and replaced by a culture of gastronomy as the Roman Empire developed. By the time De re coquinaria was published in the 1st century CE, it contained 470 recipes calling for heavy use of spices, the Romans employed Greek bakers to produce breads and imported cheeses from Sicily as the Sicilians had a reputation as the best cheesemakers. The Romans reared goats for butchering, and grew artichokes and leeks, with culinary traditions from Rome and Athens, a cuisine developed in Sicily that some consider the first real Italian cuisine. Arabs invaded Sicily in the 9th century, introducing spinach, almonds, Normans also introduced casseroles, salt cod and stockfish, which remain popular. Food preservation was either chemical or physical, as refrigeration did not exist, meats and fish would be smoked, dried or kept on ice. Brine and salt were used to pickle items such as herring, root vegetables were preserved in brine after they had been parboiled. Other means of preservation included oil, vinegar or immersing meat in congealed, rendered fat, for preserving fruits, liquor, honey and sugar were used. The northern Italian regions show a mix of Germanic and Roman culture while the south reflects Arab influence, the oldest Italian book on cuisine is the 13th century Liber de coquina written in Naples
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Marcel Wanders
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Marcel Wanders is a Dutch designer, and art director in the Powerhouse studio in Amsterdam, who designs architectural, interior and industrial projects. He became internationally known by his iconic Knotted Chair, born in Boxtel, Wanders graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Institute of the Arts Arnhem in 1988 after being expelled from the Design Academy Eindhoven. In 1995 he opened his studio in Amsterdam, gaining attention in 1996 with his iconic Knotted Chair. In 2001 Wanders co-founded the successful design label Moooi. of which he is co-owner, in 2014 in Wanders works as product and interior designer and art director work in his Powerhouse studio with around 50 international design specialists. They have realized over 1700+ projects for clients and premium brands such as Alessi, Bisazza, KLM, Flos, Swarovski, Puma. Wanders received various prizes, including the Rotterdam Design Prize. He has lectured at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Limn, in July 2002 Business Week selected Marcel Wanders as one of Europe’s ’25 leaders of change’. Regarded by many as an anomaly in the world, Marcel has made it his mission to create an environment of love, live with passion. Interior projects have become important in Marcel’s work, embraced for their enveloping of people in multi-layered. In 2012, Marcel celebrated the launch of his boldest interior project to date, house in the city’s former public library, Andaz has been hailed as an experience akin to ‘Alice in Amsterdam, ’ a reference to the eponymous Lewis Carroll book, Alice in Wonderland. Many of Marcel Wanders designs have been selected for the most important design collections and exhibitions in the world, in 2006 he was elected International Designer of the Year by Elle Decoration. In addition, Marcel regularly presents at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Marcel has been featured in numerous major design magazines including Domus, Interni, Blueprint, Design Report, Frame, I. D. Knotted Chair Egg Vase Snotty Vase V. I. P
6.
Alessi (Italian company)
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Alessi is a housewares and kitchen utensil company in Italy, producing everyday items from plastic and metal, created by famous designers. Alessi was founded in 1921 by Giovanni Alessi, the firm began as a workshop in Valle Strona near Lake Orta in the Italian Alps near Switzerland. An area known for its tradition in making objects of wood or metal for in the house. Alessi started with producing a range of tableware items in nickel, chromium. The company’s intention was to produce hand-crafted items with the aid of machines, Design in the current sense of the term began when Carlo Alessi, son of Giovanni, was named chief designer. Carlo was trained as an industrial designer, between 1935 and 1945 he developed virtually all of the products Alessi produced. In 1945 he ascended to chief executive and designed the coffee service, in the 1950s the company was under the leadership of Carlo Alessi. It was his brother Ettore Alessi who introduced the collaboration with designers in 1955. With some architects, he designed a number of items which were created for the hotel needs, through his intervention caused many individual objects, which were best-sellers, such as the historical series of wire baskets. One of the key designs of this period is the shaker from 1957 by Luigi Massoni and this was designed in a series with an Ice bucket and Ice tongs as part of the Program 4 for the 11 triennale in Milan. This was the first time that the Alessi products got shown with manufactured goods, the 1950s were a difficult time to sell designer objects, as it was only a few years after World War II, and many people could not afford designer objects. In 1970 Alberto Alessi was responsible for the transformation of the company. Alessi was considered one of the Italian Design Factories, in this decade under the leadership of Alberto Alessi the company collaborated with some design maestros like Achille Castiglioni, Richard Sapper, Alessandro Mendini and Ettore Sottsass. In the 70s Alessi produced the Condiment set by Ettore Sottsass, the 1980s marked a period in which Italian design factories had to compete with mass production. Also in the 1980s, they changed their image from factory to industrial research lab, meaning that it is a place for research. For Alessi the 80s are marked with designs like the Two tone kettle by Sapper. In the 1990s Alessi started to work more with plastics, at the request of designers who found it a material to work with than metal, offering more design freedom. The 1990s were marked by the theme Family Follows Fiction with playful, artists designing for this theme included Stefano Giovannoni and Alessandro Mendini, who designed Fruit Mama and the bestseller Anna G
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