DESIGN ITALY EDITORIAL by Cristina Morozzi: Travel in Italy 2 - VENETO

The focus for the second part of "Journey to Italy" is on the Veneto region. The occasion is the event "Grand tour of ceramics", focused on artistic ceramics, scheduled for May 15th and 16th in Noventa Vicentina and Bassano del Grappa, since the 18th century two relevant ceramic districts thanks to the presence of plastic clay in the subsoil, solder and kaolin.

Giovanni Battista Antibon opened in 1727 in his old paternal house in Nove, which would later become the most crucial ceramic factory in the Venetian republic.

Noventa opened the ceramic museum in the elegant De Fabris building in 1995. The collection, divided by eras, extensively documents the history of Venetian ceramics from the 1700s to the present day. 

The Veneto region boasts artisans and factories in any traditional and innovative productions: in addition to the ceramic district stands out the mouth-blown glass district of Murano, the luxury footwear; the leather tanning in Arzignano; the manufacture of 'Tabarri', traditional wool cloaks, thanks to the historic company Barena di Mirano. Benetton is from Ponzano Veneto, with a model factory designed by the well-known Venetian architect Tobia Scarpa. And we must not forget the wines, one of the Italian excellences, known internationally, including the whites of the Euganean hills, the Passito, the Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, the Soave and the Amarone della Valpolicella, and many others.

We suggest the 'Friulane', the velvet slippers with rags or smooth rubber soles, used by gondoliers to avoid damaging the gondolas for folk traditions' lovers.