Italian design on show at Linate airport by Triennale Milano

On the occasion of the inauguration of the new boarding area and the enlargement of the Milan Linate airport, in the presence of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, the first of a series of installations on Made in Italy that Triennale Milano will curate from now on and in the future was presented. 

Every six months, under the supervision of Marco Sammicheli, a rich selection of pieces representing the permanent collection of the Triennale Milano Italian Design Museum (with names such as Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Roberto Sambonet, Marco Zanuso, Richard Sapper and Bruno Munari) will be presented. The presence of the cultural institution at Linate is part of the overall redevelopment project for the city airport that began in 2019, costing around 40 million euros and aimed at improving the travel experience for passengers and travellers. 



The first intervention sees the installation of a room dedicated to travel and a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Memphis. The first, is developed through pieces of Italian design that interpret the theme of travel: so we find the Partner suitcase by Cini Boeri for Oreste Franzi & C. (1967), the tray with the Alitalia Linea 72 in-flight service by Richard-Ginori designed by Joe Colombo, Ignazia Favata and Ambrogio Pozzi for Alitalia (1972), a plate from the Tema e Variazioni series by Piero Fornasetti (1964), and the Slonga deckchair by Titti Fabiani for IFTDesign (1975). The celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Memphis will be held in the airport's new hall, where Ettore Sottsass's iconic Carlton bookcase (1981) stands out with its bright colours.

The partnership between Triennale Milano and Linate aims to increase the significance of the concept of travel and the experience around it. The airport, typically experienced as a "non-place" of passage between one destination and another, here becomes an opportunity for profound cultural enrichment, where the savoir faire and skills of our historic designers and architects act as a flag for an entire cultural and social tradition, thus bringing new audiences closer to the culture of Italian design.