(14 February 2017) Bratislava pays tribute to one of the masters of Italian design and architecture, Giò Ponti on Thursday, March 2 (17:00 - 18:30); an entire day dedicated to Italian design in the world. This will take place at the Italian Cultural Institute in Bratislava in collaboration with the Slovakian Design Museum and Slovakian Centre for Design. There will also be the screening of the documentary film on Ponti titled “Amare Giò Ponti” (Loving Giò Ponti) by Francesca Molteni (2015, 35mins) and a special lecture. Peter Hefti, director of the Molteni Museum of Giussano, will hold a conference on Giò Ponti (simultaneously translated into Slovakian). “Amare Giò Ponti” is the first documentary film about the great designer, produced by Muse in collaboration with Giò Ponti Archives and promoted by Molteni&C, a historic Italian design company. The documentary is based on archival research of unpublished historical documents about the designer, based on photographic sources of Giò Ponti Archives and Teche Rai. It also features an interview of Giò Ponti in his Milan studio, with his heirs and members of today’s design industry. The public will have the opportunity to discover the architect, aspiring painter and the forerunner of ‘Italian design’ who, during his more than 50-year career, unceasingly experimented with different arts, trades, objects, structures, and materials in small and grand scale; from designing a door-handle to designing an entire city plan.

A DAY DEDICATED TO ITALIAN DESIGN

The Minster for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has identified design as one of the main axes of his international promotional campaign. Every year, starting this March 2, 2017, the network of Italian Embassies, Consulates, and Cultural Institutes around the world will organise an “Italian Design Day” consisting of 100 events in 100 different cities.