WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Eller Studio, Alessandra Mustilli, ATLANTE Design, Gina Dionisio

Naples is a city like no other. Beyond its celebrated food, archaeological riches and proximity to the Amalfi Coast, it has a frenetic creative energy of its own: spontaneous, contradictory, constantly inventive and inseparable from the city’s layered history.

This energy directly inspired Emilia Petruccelli and Domitilla Dardi to create EDIT Napoli. They didn’t want a fair focused on trends; instead, they envisaged a platform centred on authorial design, community and connection – one that encourages design to leave its conventional spaces and create new relationships between contemporary ideas and a deeply rooted cultural landscape.

The eighth edition of EDIT Napoli, which took place from 9 – 11 October, found a fitting home in La Santissima, a former 17th-century convent whose frescoed archways provided the perfect backdrop for this year’s theme – “Where Design Shapes” – highlighting the making processes that shape design and the relationships that nurture it.

Here, across three sections – Main, Seminario and Camera con Vista – 80 international designers exhibited pieces ranging from furniture and lighting to textiles, tiles and objets d’art.

Below, we spotlight a selection of Italian designers exhibiting at the fair and the pieces that stood out.

Monoferments X Legance

The Tempesta collection by Monoferments, an independent research laboratory of the Milan-based design practice Monostudio, is crafted from trees felled by extreme weather events – transforming loss into a resource and restoring value to timber that would otherwise go to waste.

Its newest addition, Tempesta in Galera – a series of lightning-bolt-shaped stools – was made in collaboration with Legance, an independent Italian law firm, and Monza Prison. Together with carpenters Alberto and Giuseppe Discacciati (DB Arredamenti), Monoferments developed a three-month educational workshop involving inmates in every stage of design and production.

A space for dialogue, learning and human connection, the workshop ensured that each stool is unique – preserving the marks of both the reclaimed material and the people who crafted it. @monoferments | @monostudioassociatimilano

ÚTOL

ÚTOL, a contemporary Italian design studio and artistic workshop by Flavio Rossi and David Romelli, presented Stammtisch and Bufon – two pieces inspired by the folklore of the Dolomites.

Stammtisch, a collection of tables designed in collaboration with Italian architecture studio Scatola Cortese, is based on the Ladin stüa: a communal table that brings people together. The blue references Fassaner Blau – the distinctive cobalt blue of Val di Fassa – while the feet, shaped like an eight-pointed star, nod to the Alpine edelweiss.

The red ceramic drop-shaped charms connect directly to ÚTOL’s Bufon vase collection, inspired by the Ladin carnival character Bufòn – a brazen jester whose elongated nose, tipped with a red charm, is his most recognisable feature. @utol_ceramica | @scatolacortese

Fornace Brioni

Fornace Brioni has been making cotto – traditional handcrafted terracotta made from Po Valley clays – since 1920. The company, now in its fourth generation under Alessio and Alberto Brioni, continually innovates this age-old tradition through collaborations with leading architects, artists and designers.

One of its newest collaborative collections is MICROBIA by Finemateria, which translates the natural shape of microorganisms into a tactile design language. The single biomorphic tile – conceived as a small living organism – multiplies across surfaces like a mosaic, irregular and seemingly in motion. In this process, clay becomes part of the narrative: imperfections, colour variations and textural nuances make every composition unique. @fornacebrioni | @finemateria

CantoMadre

CantoMadre’s sculptural ceramic light, mirror and side table imagine the sea as an acoustic memory.

Inspired by the legend of Parthenope, a mythological siren whose drowned body is said to have formed Naples, designers Denis Bianchini, Roberto De Mattia and Arianna Santoro captured her ‘voice’ through audio recordings made along the shores of the Gulf of Naples. Each recording was then analysed through parametric tools capable of translating the sound waves into three-dimensional geometries.

With the help of the ceramicists at Ceramica Giovanni De Maio, a traditional ceramic studio based in Salerno, the data was transformed into surfaces, volumes and structures, giving rise to a collection in which each object represents a different manifestation of the same invisible presence: the echo of Parthenope’s song. | @canto.madre

Giorgio Bena

Giorgio Bena, an independent furniture maker from Turin whose work bridges product design, interior consultancy and artisanal craftsmanship, presented Decode – a coffee table collection that brings the past and present together in an essential balance.

Decode takes its name from the collection’s central design process: drawing on historical influences – particularly Italian modernism and Space Age lines – and reinterpreting them through a contemporary sensibility in the finishes and details.

While Giorgio is known for working with metal, Decode expands on his signature material palette by introducing wood, bringing with it a sense of warmth and texture. | @giorgio.bena

Officine Salvetti

Officine Salvetti is an atelier built around the legacy and creative vision of sculptor and designer Andrea Salvetti. Based in Tuscany, the atelier crafts high-end metal furniture and sculptures.

Tronchi–Consolle is the latest addition to the Tronchi Collection. The piece underscores the artist’s commitment to experimentation, with a focus on material and technical innovation, while exploring the relationship between tradition and modernity, and between culture and nature – elements that have always distinguished Salvetti’s work.

Made entirely of cast aluminium, it is 100% recyclable and can be endlessly remade without losing its original form or integrity. | @officinesalvetti

Artieri 1895

Fade, by Venice-based studio Zaven for Artieri 1895, took home the award for Best New Design in the Main section at EDIT Napoli 2026.

Forming part of Artieri 1895’s In Between showcase at the fair, the collection of alabaster vases and side tables interpreted the material through an approach that looks beyond the surface: placing the objects’ construction process at the centre of the design.

Rather than being concealed, the joins are made visible through a subtle chromatic veil that traces the edges of the assembled pieces, spreading into the alabaster like a liquid shadow. The naturally translucent material absorbs and diffuses the colour, altering its perception in relation to the light and depth of the stone. @artieri_1895 | @_zaven_

LEFORME Atelier

An interest in modular structures, the play of shadows and chromotherapy led designer Amauta Ciriachi, founder of the Rome-based design studio LEFORME Atelier, to create MODULA: a range of fluid lighting structures that can take on different forms through simple interlocking elements.

Each light can be customised through a choice of base material, fabric cable colour and, of course, the Perspex elements. | @leformeatelier

DLA Design Lab

DLA Design Lab, a Genoese multidisciplinary studio founded by architect and designer Max Dalle Sasse, is known for its innovative custom interiors and furniture collections rooted in Ligurian identity. For EDIT Napoli, the studio unveiled a preview of its new indoor rug collection – a collaboration with graphic designer and street artist Vittorio Rossi – creating a dialogue between two Mediterranean port cities: Genoa and Naples.

Each rug translates Rossi’s graphic language into physical form. The design draws on the historic arcades of Sottoripa in Genoa, reinterpreting their architectural identity through a contemporary visual language: a geometric rhythm of arches and decorative motifs that evokes the interplay of light and shadow typical of arcaded spaces. @dla_design_lab | @_vittorio.rossi

LRA.form

LRA.form, led by designer Laura Cabbia, launched the Wabi Sabi coffee table collection.

Made from Versilys marble, the collection is inspired by a contemporary interpretation of the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of the same name, which celebrates the beauty of imperfection.

The tables – available in Grande and Piccolo – are shaped using water-jet technology: the subtle variations and irregularities generated by the movement and vibrations of the water jet become an integral part of the table’s aesthetic, making each one unique. The collection celebrates the material in its authenticity, transforming what would normally be considered a flaw into a distinctive feature. | @lra.form

Parallelismi

Parallelismi, a new editorial and design platform focused on architecture, interiors and collectable design, founded by Rome-based architect Fabrizia Frezza and her daughter Alessandra Coccia, presented a curated collection of pieces that, at its heart, champions Italian craftsmanship. Among the designs showcased was the Althea seat, a new piece designed by Alessandra.

The design of the Althea seat is based on the idea that a seat can transform to suit the needs of the person using it – not a static object, but an element that adapts to different ways of experiencing a space.

The reclining backrest allows the seat’s configuration to be changed with a simple gesture. When positioned at the centre, it creates two facing seats, encouraging interaction and sharing. When tilted, the seat opens up, changing the way it embraces the body and inviting a more intimate and relaxed experience.

Made through an entirely Italian artisanal supply chain rooted in Campania, the Althea is as much a product of place as it is of process – each piece a quiet reflection of the region’s craft traditions and enduring material intelligence. | @parallelismi.it

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