Filippo Berto writes an open letter to design enthusiasts in Corriere della Sera

Filippo Berto writes an open letter to all design enthusiasts published in Corriere della Sera on Monday 15th June.
Here below is the unabridged version.

Dear Design enthusiasts,

I am Filippo Berto, CEO of BertO and this open letter is from Meda, World Design Capital.
I am writing to you all because no-one understands the reasons behind a magnificent design better than you.

I know how you love design, how your heart beats faster when you see that ineffable quality which characterises projects worthy of the word “Design”. I understand your burning passion for those desirable objects which the whole world appreciates but which only a few are able to comprehend.

As you all know, the true nature of great Design comes before the object and even before the project.

The great Design – that magical blend of vision, interpretation, materials, workmanship and functionality – is born, even before it takes form, in the DNA that is present in certain latitudes.

Naturally great Design is produced in many places, over the years many regions of our planet have become known for having achieved particular projects or schools but you who are reading this know exactly where to find that unique, indisputable, irreplaceable talent for Design.

If you could indicate just one place in the world, only one, where Design is conceived and created, both in the past, in the present and without doubt also in the future, that place would surely be Italy.

Butt anyone who loves going right to the root of things, who has the intellect and curiosity to look deeply into that which is behind a fascinating idea, these people go further.

And I know that you are among this exclusive group.

So let’s go into this together because Dream Design is a subject which fascinates me too and I am just as enthusiastic as you.

Going further, looking behind the labels and beyond fashion means enjoying in full the true essence of a cultural and aesthetic phenomenon.

The advertising spots and the slogans, glossy magazines and the showrooms in the big cities, the trends and the glamour, let’s leave them where they are: there are people who appreciate these things: everyone in the world is different.

But for you who want to go further, we are coming to the main point.

The heart, to use a word we all love.
This heart beats in an Italian city which you know well even if you have never visited it.

You know it not because you have visited its squares and stopped to admire its beauty but because of the many times you have appreciated an object produced here.
You know it for the many times you have admired something conceived in this territory.
For the many times you have enthusiastically bought an object which originatess right here.

Meda, dear friends, is your city.

Because this is the city for anyone who understands Design, the city you hold in your heart.
So I’m writing to you today simply to remind you that Meda is your city, right at the centre of your passion for Design.

Meda, where the Dream Design Made in Meda was created.

The whole world knows this but only a few feel at home here.
And you are among these special few.

See you soon,
Filippo

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