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It is a great pleasure for me to
introduce this book. Retracing
a century of architecture
and design up to the latest
contemporary creations,
it is not only a practical
commercial instrument but
also aspires to be a vehicle for
culture and beauty.
This ambition is all the more
important and powerful in this
period of history when the
buzzword is sustainability. A
new model of consumption is
taking form, one that is more
mature and informed with a
paradigm that shifts emphasis
increasingly toward quality
and durability.
Talking about FontanaArte
means telling the story
of a company which has
succeeded in growing,
reinventing itself, and
adapting to diverse periods
and eras thanks to an
innovative and farsighted
entrepreneurial vision.
Fortunately, this is not an
isolated case in the Italian
panorama of small and
medium businesses.
It is the story of a brand
that has evolved over time
while expressing, in different
forms and inflections, the
philosophy of light as the
luminous source of life.
Always loved and sought-
after, this completely Italian-
made brand is distributed all
over the world, esteemed by
art galleries, and exhibited
in preeminent museums of
design and contemporary art.
Until recently, one spoke
of “Made in Italy” as a plus
principally in reference to
fashion; it then extended to
food, and now finally also
to the world of design. The
three famous F’s are Fashion,
Food, and Furniture. And we
now have the opportunity
to strengthen the attribution
to this last F. But we must
not waste time! We must
act, organise as a system,
unite with the shared goal of
safeguarding, protecting, and
promoting our architectural,
historical, cultural, and
landscape heritage.
FontanaArte has an important
role to play in this effort, in
keeping with its eminent
past. We must therefore work
to make it emblematic by
illustrating its heritage, brand
DNA, and the uniqueness of
the protagonists who have
built its fame over time.
It is now our turn to take
up the baton, to feel both
responsible for telling our
story and also honoured
to be able to communicate
our unique legacy to future
generations. It is up to us
to show how industry and
artisanry can coexist and
why this must be their future,
to offer as example the
happy marriage of industrial
engineering and design
envisioned by Gio Ponti.
This book is a means
for reaching the new
generations, to show them
that sustainability and
sustinable development are
not antithetical processes
and how digital media and
their codes can coexist with,
support, and complement
a printed editorial project.
True to the FontanaArte
philosophy, this text seeks
to encompass a range of
apparently antithetical souls,
from creative to commercial,
abandoning lofty academic
prose in favour of a more
fluid language that is a
pleasure to read and study;
in short, a book that appeals
to the curiosity and emotions
intrinsic to human nature.
In a quiet revolution, a future
embodying its own past
invites us to look ahead
with greater wisdom as we
innovate and explore new
horizons in this new era.
Let us hope we succeed!
uniti con lo stesso scopo di salvaguardare, proteggere e promuovere
il nostro patrimonio architettonico, storico, culturale
e paesaggistico.
A questo proposito FontanaArte deve fare la sua parte in
continuità con un passato glorioso ed ecco allora che l’auspicio
è proprio quello di farne sempre più una case history, grazie alla
forza dell’heritage, del DNA del brand, e grazie all’unicità dei suoi
protagonisti che l’hanno reso celebre nel tempo.
Ora tocca a noi raccogliere il testimone e sentirne, da un lato,
la grande responsabilità divulgativa, dall’altro l’onore di poter
trasmettere alle future generazioni questo patrimonio unico.
Tocca a noi raccontare perché il settore industriale e quello
artigianale possono convivere e devono avere un futuro.
A noi indicare l’esempio del connubio tra progettazione industriale
e design come dagli insegnamenti di Gio Ponti.
Ci piacerebbe poter giungere con questo strumento alle nuove
generazioni per dimostrare che sostenibilità e sviluppo sostenibile
non sono processi in antitesi e come la realtà digitale e i suoi
codici possano convivere e supportare un progetto editoriale
cartaceo divenendo complementari. Con questo testo, nella filosofia
FontanaArte, abbiamo voluto abbracciare più anime in apparente
antitesi tra loro, da quella creativa a quella commerciale, nella
ricerca di rendere fluido un linguaggio troppo spesso accademico,
al fine di arrivare a renderne piacevole la lettura e la consultazione,
cercando di innescare quel processo di curiosità ed emozione che da
sempre è prerogativa dell’indole umana.
Il futuro che custodisce il proprio passato e che, come una
rivoluzione silenziosa, ci invita a guardare avanti con maggiore
saggezza per innovare ed esplorare nuovi confini in questa nuova era.
Speriamo di esserci riusciti!
BEAUTY IS SUSTAINABLE
Giuseppe Di Nuccio
CEO FontanaArte
