Tiles, the best furniture, fabrics, bath fixtures, bronze - just

“Tiles, the best furniture, fabrics, bath fixtures, bronze—just leaf through any design magazine and you immediately understand they’re all ‘Made in Italy.’ We have the premier opera house in the world, La Scala, and behind the Nobel given to CERN is the research of many Italians.” Thus spoke Lapo Elkann, heir to one of Italy’s grandest legacies, yet himself a passionate herald of his nation’s spirit. In these words, he does not merely praise a country—he invokes an ancient lineage of craftsmanship, beauty, and intellect, woven through centuries of human endeavor. His is not the shallow pride of patriotism, but the reverent awe of one who sees his homeland as a temple of creation, where art and science walk hand in hand.

For Elkann speaks of a truth that transcends commerce: that Italy, through its artisans and thinkers, has for millennia given shape to the dreams of humanity. When he lists tiles, furniture, fabrics, and bronze, he does not name commodities but symbols—the tangible proof of a culture that exalts form and function, aesthetics and soul. “Made in Italy” is not a label of origin; it is a mark of excellence, a declaration that beauty can exist even in the ordinary. To hold an Italian object is to touch the echo of a civilization that once carved marble into gods and painted ceilings into heavens.

The origin of Elkann’s sentiment reaches deep into the soil of history. From Rome, which taught the world the harmony of structure and empire, to Florence, where the Renaissance reawakened the slumbering spirit of creation, Italy has long stood as a crucible of genius. The architects who raised cathedrals, the painters who revealed divinity in color, the sculptors who freed form from stone—all were children of this land. Even in the modern age, the legacy endures: in the curve of a Ferrari, in the stitch of a tailored suit, in the melody that soars from La Scala. Each creation whispers the same truth: Italy designs not only with its hands, but with its heart.

Elkann’s words also remind us that the Italian spirit is not confined to beauty alone—it breathes in the realms of science and discovery. Behind the Nobel Prize awarded to CERN, he tells us, are the invisible labors of Italian minds—men and women who continue the legacy of Galileo, Fermi, and Marconi, who dared to question the stars and harness the unseen. Thus, the Italian genius unites opposites: art and reason, elegance and precision, imagination and discipline. The same hands that shape a violin’s curve are capable of shaping the future of physics.

Consider the story of Leonardo da Vinci, the perfect embodiment of Elkann’s idea. He was painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, anatomist—a living bridge between art and science. To him, invention and beauty were not separate pursuits but one sacred calling. He could sketch a design for flight and paint the smile of the eternal in the same breath. Through Leonardo, Italy became not just a place on the map, but a symbol of the boundless potential of the human spirit. And it is this spirit that Elkann invokes—the continuity of that Renaissance flame, still alive in every designer, scientist, and artist who bears the imprint of Italy upon their work.

The deeper meaning of Elkann’s declaration is this: that design is not a luxury—it is a language of civilization. To design well is to live thoughtfully, to honor both purpose and beauty. The Italians, through centuries of devotion to craft, remind us that the measure of progress is not only in innovation, but in grace. When a society cares for how things are made, it reveals how deeply it cares for life itself. The “Made in Italy” ethos is thus not about style alone; it is a philosophy—a belief that even the simplest object can embody harmony, dignity, and meaning.

Let this be the lesson for all who hear: create with pride, but also with love. Whether you build, paint, write, or invent, remember that your work becomes a reflection of your soul and your people. Seek not only utility, but beauty; not only fame, but mastery. Look to Italy, as Elkann does, not as a relic of the past but as a living teacher—a reminder that the highest form of craftsmanship is an act of reverence toward existence itself.

And so, when we read Elkann’s words, let us feel not merely admiration, but inspiration. For he speaks not only of Italy, but of what every nation, every creator, and every generation might aspire to: to make the world a little more elegant, a little more intelligent, a little more human. To create, as the Italians have always done, with both beauty and purpose, and to leave behind not just things—but testaments to the enduring grandeur of the human spirit.