Report from the Waterfront

This book evokes the world of Fantini, a “factory of Italian design” strongly connected to its territory, Lake Orta, the genius loci of its creations.

The fascinating story of this business starts in the small village of Pella, on the shores of Lake Orta, in northern Italy, yet its high-end design products created by the best-known designers, including Piero Lissoni, Michael Anastassiades, Matteo Thun, Antonio Rodriguez, Vincent Van Duysen, Naoto Fukasawa, and Paik Sun Kim, went on to travel the world in an international circuit.

Water is the common thread running through the whole book. This is the water of Lake Orta, found in the images of great photographers such as Gianni Basso, Franco Fontana, Giorgio Lotti, Gabriele Basilico, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Ferdinando Scianna, Gabriele Croppi, and Walter Zerla, who have interpreted it over time at the invitation of Fantini. However, water is also the main element of the jewellike taps produced by the company, small everyday masterpieces that bring it to our homes, renewing this great magic every day.

Renato Sartori is a communications expert in the world of design and the former marketing and communication director of the Alessi company. He is the strategic consultant and communications manager for the Fantini company. Patrizia Scarzella is an architect and journalist who has written books on design and curated exhibitions in Italy and abroad. She is a consultant on social-design projects for UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. She has been collaborating with the Fantini company since 1995.