GENOA. The heart of the Genoese historic center as a large widespread showcase with the best of contemporary design. Promoted by the Design District (DiDe), the third edition of Genova Design Week will be held from 18 to 22 May, a project born in 2018 by a group of courageous and visionary professionals led by the gallery owner Elisabetta Rossetti. For five days, ancient and sumptuous Genoese palaces, many of the Rolli circuit, will open doors and hallways to host about fifty exhibitors from all over Italy. And if last year, despite the pandemic, 115 events were carried out, in this 2022 restart there are at least 150: exhibitions, conferences, debates, guided tours and concerts.
«A consumer and business event – says Rossetti – which wants to offer professionals in the sector the opportunity to have an unconventional showcase of their excellence and novelties at their disposal. An event to make the public aware of the production realities of Genoese, Ligurian and Italian total design within the fascinating setting of the historic center and its centuries-old buildings ».
Not only. This year the Genoa Design Week doubles and also offers the theme of nautical design, one of the excellences of Liguria. With Confindustria Nautica, the new partner of the event for the maritime sector, the Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce, Confcommercio and the Liguria Region support the project. “Our intent is to help support the leadership of the city in the nautical world – continues Rossetti, president of DiDe – This edition will have as its main theme” time “, understood as a strategic asset for the development of quality, sustainability, industry and commerce and for the well-being of the individual ».
The event, as Councilor Paola Bordilli underlines, also has another ambitious goal: researching, disseminating and enhancing design, regenerating an increasingly large portion of the historic city center. When Rossetti with his art gallery and his furnishing partners, designers, architects and creatives settled between via Chiabrera and via Giustiniani, it seemed like a crazy bet. In 4 years the district has expanded, 14 other businesses have opened and new ones are on the way, alongside quality artisan shops, restaurants and wineries. Transforming a dark corner dedicated to getting high, into a glamorous path a stone’s throw from the ancient port redesigned by Renzo Piano and the Aquarium. What is called a virtuous path of urban regeneration.
“Our companies – explains Paolo Odone, president of Confcommercio Genova – have continued to sow and, finally, capture the results with a high-profile event that, for five days, will make the Genoese historic center the capital of design and creativity” .