MADE IN MiC: the Ministry of Culture at the Salone 2026

As part of its role as an international contemporary design platform, the Salone del Mobile.Milano will be welcoming the Ministry of Culture, opening its system to a trajectory forged by heritage and design, memory and production. Not an insertion, but an addition – a presence that will expand the field of design and reconnect it with its cultural roots, making explicit that which often remains implicit - every single contemporary object is informed by a lengthy and stratified history. 

There was a time when design had yet to be called design. A time when objects took shape through the convergence of artistic expression, craftsmanship and a drive towards modernity. It was during this period, between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that the foundations of Italian design were laid. This is where MADE IN MiC begins, with the Archetipi (Archetypes) section at its heart - not merely a collection, but a critical framework that interprets works of applied arts and proto-design from 1900 to 1945 as key milestones. It was during this period that a dialogue was forged between previously separate disciplines - art made its way into  interiors and transformed their language, architecture engaged with the objects and the domestic scale, and craftsmanship evolved towards more structured forms of production. Thus the first codes of modern design were defined, poised between one-off pieces and mass production, between concrete function and symbolic value.

The layout doesn’t follow a linear chronology, but is divided into thematic nuclei that function as interpretative maps, making this complexity easier to read.  The Interni d’autore (designer interiors) demonstrate the ways in which artists and designers redefined the domestic space; the Souvenirs d’autore (designer Souvenirs) narrate the conception of objects designed to transmit a cultural image of Italy, Dal Museo (from the Museum) highlights the role of collections as repertories of shapes and motifs for design; Domus illustrates the evolution of daily life through everyday objects; Trame (Textures) puts textiles at the forefront as the area in which technique, decoration and identity come together. Archetipi (Archetypes) therefore conveys an understanding of how Italian design was formed even before being defined as such, as a widespread, shared cultural practice. 

The second half of the exhibition builds on this historic foundation, exploring how cultural heritage can become an active resource for the present. The project involves a network of institutions that are translating their own collections into contemporary objects -  the Pinacoteca di Brera with Grande Brera, integrating design, sustainability and inclusion; VIVE – Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia, interpreting the tradition of craftsmanship; the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art with GNAMC-Design; the Museo Galileo with EcoMuse Lab, geared to sustainability. They are complemented by the Magna Grecia and Minerva in Action initiatives, which build further connections between heritage and design. 

Designers, architects and production companies – including Mario Cucinella Architects, Artemide, BigBag, and Nuoveforme Firenze – are helping redefine museum merchandising, turning it from souvenir objects into designed everyday objects that fit seamlessly into daily life whilst maintaining a connection with our heritage. 

Rounding off the experience, a programme of talks will run through the exhibition space as an integral part of the project. The events will bring together institutions, designers, businesses and the research community, highlighting the role of heritage in shaping the contemporary world and sparking a shared reflection on the future of design as a cultural practice.

SIDE EVENTS PROGRAMME PAVILION OF THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE
Curator: Gabriella Musto Architect, Ministry of Culture

21st April
Opening of the Ministry of Culture Pavilion “Made in MiC”
Welcome addresses (12:15 pm)
Valentina Gemignani, Chief of Staff, Ministry of Culture
Alfonsina Russo, Head of the Department for the Enhancement of Cultural Heritage
Reflections by the Directors General of Museums and leading figures from the cultural sector who contributed to the selection of the artworks and the sharing of merchandising prototypes.

Introduction and moderation: Alfonsina Russo

Edith Gabrielli, Director of VIVE – Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia, and Michele De Lucchi, Architect, Designer and Artist (12:30–1:00 pm)
Angelo Crespi, Director General, Grande Brera (1:15–1:45 pm)
Renata Mazzantini, Director, National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (2:00–2:30 pm)
Roberto Ferrari, Executive Director, Museo Galileo (2:45–3:15 pm)
Maria Chiara Ghiretti, heir of Alvino Bagni, and Gian Paolo Monti sales, NUOVEFORME s.r.l. (3:30–4:00 pm)
Giuseppe Scaglione and Nicola Malagrinò, Architects and Designers (4:15–4:45 pm)

22nd April
Historical Narratives. Dialogues between Art and Design
Introduction and moderation: Alessio De Cristofaro, Director, Central Institute for Economic Enhancement and Promotion of Cultural Heritage (IC-VEPP)

Matteo Fochessati, Curator, Wolfsoniana Museum, Genoa (10:00–10:30 am)
The Wolfsoniana and 20th-century Italian furniture

Oliva Rucellai, Decorative Arts Historian and Head Curator at the Richard-Ginori Museum Archive Foundation (10:45–11:15 am)
Gio Ponti and the invention of Made in Italy

Consuelo de Gara, Head of Communications, Museo Ginori Foundation (11:30 am–12:00 pm)
Museum and enterprise. Ginori, an Italian story

Alessio De Cristofaro, Director, IC-VEPP (12:15–12:45 pm)
At the origins of Made in Italy: from industrial art museums to E.N.A.P.I.

Authorial Architectural Design for Museums and Construction Processes between Exhibition Design and Product Design
Introduction and moderation: Gabriella Musto, Architect - Ministry of Culture

Massimiliano Tita, Architect, Studio Abcplus (3:00–3:30 pm)
Adaptive Museum Prototypes: Authorial Architecture, Digital Fabrication and Expansive Merchandising
Camillo Botticini, Architect and Creative Director, Architecture DV Area (3:45–4:15 pm)
A section on the urban history of ancient Brescia

Margherita Guccione, Scientific Director, Grande MAXXI (4:30–5:00 pm)
Towards the Great MAXXI_new landscapes for the museum of the future

24th April
Architecture and Design in the Contemporary Cultural Debate
Introduction and moderation: Gabriella Musto, Architect – Ministry of Culture

Giovanni Tortelli, GTRF Tortelli Frassoni Architetti Associati (10:30–11:00 am)
Designing the museum: exhibition layouts with and for archaeology

Gianfranco Tuzzolino, Professor of Architectural Design, University of Palermo, and President of the Committee for Contemporary Art and Architecture, Ministry of Culture (11:15–11:45 am)
IN DIALOGUE WITH
Luciano Galimberti, President, ADI Design Museum, Milan (12:00–12:30 pm)

The Birth of the Prototype: Idea / Design / Construction
Introduction and moderation: Gabriella Musto, Architect – Ministry of Culture

Silvia Masetti - EcoMuse Lab / ISIA Florence Design, Designer, Lecturer and ISIA Florence staff 
Paolo Deganello - EcoMuse Lab / ISIA Florence Design, Architect, Designer and Lecturer 
Andrea Magnani - EcoMuse Lab / Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, Siliqoon Agency, Visual Artist Multidisciplinary Designer
Cecilia Milazzo - EcoMuse Lab, Designer, Artisan, Lecturer and PhD Candidate (3:00–4:15 pm)
EcoMuseLab. Designing sustainable products and spaces for museum bookshops.
The experience of Museo Galileo, Artex, Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, ISIA Florence Design and the University of Florence – SAGAS Department.

25th April
Project Culture and Relationship with the Territory: the Ministry of Culture’s Structures and Contemporary Enhancement Experiences within the Superintendencies
Introduction and moderation: Gabriella Musto, Architect – Ministry of Culture

Antonio Zunno, Superintendent of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto (12:00–12:30 pm)
Designing with light and visual suggestions for the Forte a Mare in Brindisi

Elena Anna Boldetti, Superintendent for the Metropolitan City of Cagliari and the Provinces of Oristano and South Sardinia (12:45–1:15 pm)
Sardinia: from heritage to project. Regenerating through design

Chiara Delpino, Superintendent for the Provinces of Chieti and Pescara (1:30–2:00 pm)
From research to form: experiences of dialogue between archaeology and architecture 

Discussion

26th April
Art / Culture / Process / Vision. New Creative Investigations on the International Scene
Introduction and moderation: Gabriella Musto, Architect – Ministry of Culture
Paolo Rosselli, Photographer (11:00–11:30 am)
Museum Pa(e)ssages

Marco Iuliano, Professor and Director of Research, Centre for Architecture and Visual Arts, University of Liverpool – School of Architecture (11:45 am–12:15 pm)
Design as a learning tool: the new architecture school in Liverpool

Paolo Tassinari, TassinariVetta Studio, Designer (12:30–1:00 pm)
The visual identity of VI-VE, Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia