MOROSO AND ZANELLATO/BORTOTTO AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF FIRE

Images Courtesy of Moroso

When Craftsmanship Meets Italian Cultural Heritage

Some materials carry more than colour, texture, or form. They carry traces of heat, handwork, and the subtle unpredictability of making. This idea sits at the heart of the collaboration between Italian furniture brand Moroso and design duo Zanellato/Bortotto, brought to life across two significant cultural settings: the Quirinal Palace and Villa Medici.

Mangiafuoco

Connecting the two projects is a shared exploration of materials, transformation, and craftsmanship. Here, fire becomes more than a production process—it shapes surfaces, introduces variation, and gives each object a character of its own.

Clay

At the Quirinal Palace, the Mangiafuoco tables, designed by Zanellato/Bortotto for Moroso in 2024, have joined the permanent Quirinale Contemporaneo itinerary, bringing contemporary Italian design into dialogue with the historic interiors.

Each circular top begins as a sheet of copper alloy, hand-coated with vitreous powders and metal oxides before being fired at high temperatures. The process permanently fuses the materials, creating deep, vibrant surfaces that differ from one piece to another. Set on cylindrical solid-wood bases, the tables evoke celestial bodies, with every surface carrying the imprint of its transformation.

Presented by Magran Living

At Villa Medici, the same material research takes a more immersive direction. For Il cielo in una stanza, the interior design of Room 20 created as part of the Re-enchanting Villa Medici programme, Zanellato/Bortotto draws inspiration from verdant pine trees and Roman travertine. Wisteria-blue walls and a striking green feature wall create a setting where architecture, nature, and design meet.

The room also features two unique prototypes of the Clay armchair, developed especially for Villa Medici in collaboration with Moroso and Incalmi. Rather than the ceramic backrest of the later production version, these prototypes feature fired enamel panels on copper, continuing the material exploration behind Mangiafuoco.

From the Quirinal Palace to Villa Medici, the projects reveal a contemporary approach to Italian design in which craftsmanship is not treated as a static tradition, but as a living practice open to experimentation. Fire becomes the invisible thread connecting them—a design tool that allows material, process, and the human hand to shape objects with their own distinct identity.