The Italian Ambassador to Belgrade, Luca Gori, and the Director of the ICE Office, Antonio Ventresca, inaugurated the Italian Design Days in Serbia, dedicated this year to the theme “Re-Design – Regenerating spaces, objects, ideas, relations”.
The event forms part of the broader “Play with IT” Creativity Festival and will unfold through a varied programme of events involving institutions, companies, designers and industry professionals. Italian design, recognised worldwide as a mark of excellence thanks to its ability to combine functionality, craftsmanship, aesthetic research and innovation, has effectively become a philosophy for rethinking the function of objects and spaces in order to promote innovation, sustainability and economic growth, both for individual companies and for entire urban contexts.
The opening event, hosted at the Ambassador’s Residence, was attended by leading figures from the sector: Antonella Andriani, Vice-President of ADI (Italian Industrial Design Association) and member of the Board of the ADI Compasso d’Oro Collection Foundation; Francesco Lucchese, founder of the Lucchesedesign studio and winner of the Compasso d’Oro 2020; and Davide Angeli, architect and Director of AMDL CIRCLE, the studio founded by the renowned architect and designer Michele De Lucchi.
“We are delighted to welcome to Belgrade three distinguished representatives of Italian design, a defining expression of a culture that combines creativity, innovation and industrial vision,” said the Italian Ambassador to Serbia, Luca Gori. “With a view to EXPO 2027 in Belgrade, dedicated to the theme of play and creativity, we have chosen to engage professionals and the public through a programme of events held across showrooms throughout the city, allowing them to experience the quality of Italian design.”
Antonella Andriani presented the history and spirit of the prestigious “Compasso d’Oro” award, encouraging participation in the special edition of the prize to be held on the occasion of the themed EXPO 2027 in Belgrade. On the same subject of the universal exhibition, Francesco Lucchese, a lecturer at the Faculty of Design at the Polytechnic University of Milan, noted that an event such as an expo can act as an accelerator, either speeding up the introduction of good practices in urban planning and architectural solutions, or producing the opposite effect if construction is pursued merely for the sake of speed, without any long-term objective.
Presenting some of the most iconic architectural projects of the AMDL Circle studio, Davide Angeli highlighted several of the firm’s principles: overcoming the separation between those inside and outside a building, as seen in the public spaces created through the repurposing of the former archiepiscopal seminary in Milan or in the UniCredit Pavilion in Milan, as well as the need to bring abandoned industrial spaces back into use – not only through redevelopment to increase a building’s value, but through the social regeneration of environments.
The Director of the ICE Office, Antonio Ventresca, noted that: “The 2025 data confirm double-digit growth for Italian finished furniture in Serbia: +25% for upholstered seating with wooden frames, +35% for those with metal frames, and +27% for kitchen furniture. Italian-made furnishings emerged stronger from 2025, with growing market shares across all major segments.”
Throughout May, showrooms in Belgrade will host thematic meetings, presentations and networking opportunities aimed at architects, designers, industry professionals and the interested public. The initiative, inspired by Milan’s Fuorisalone, is carried out in partnership with Confindustria Serbia, the Italian-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and local distributors of Italian furniture and design brands — Alba Dominante d.o.o., Artefacto d.o.o., MEGA CONCEPT d.o.o., Nitea and NOVO LUX d.o.o. Beograd. As part of the programme, Mapei, in collaboration with the Kolarac Foundation, will also organise a seminar dedicated to Italian materials and technologies for the regeneration and enhancement of cultural and historical heritage.
Special attention is also being given to future professionals: on 5 May, at the Italian Cultural Institute, architect Davide Angeli will deliver a lecture for students of the Faculty of Applied Arts and the Belgrade School of Design, fostering direct dialogue and encouraging exchange with new generations of creatives.