Giorgio Armani buys the historic Capannina di Forte dei Marmi

Giorgio Armani announces that he has reached an agreement for the acquisition of La Capannina di Franceschi srl in Forte dei Marmi, the legendary venue founded in 1929 by Achille Franceschi and since 1977 acquired and managed by Gherardo and Carla Guidi. This is a confirmation of a rumour that took shape at the beginning of the summer. The new management of the historic venue will be effective from the 2026 summer season.

As stated in the group's note, 'for Giorgio Armani, who has always been linked to Forte dei Marmi, a personal retreat and holiday resort, this acquisition represents an emotional gesture, a return to his origins - he met his friend and partner Sergio Galeotti there in the 1960s - and a tribute to Italian tradition'.

For Giorgio Armani, this is also the first investment in such a venue, which, however, consistently follows those intended for the expansion of the chain of Armani-branded hotels, residences and cafés. Among the most recent projects are the 15 residences "Armani Residences Diriyah", the first Armani branded residences in Saudi Arabia.

La Capannina was founded in 1929 by Achille Franceschi, who had the idea of cleaning up an old hut on the beach at Forte dei Marmi and equipping it with a bar counter to serve drinks and pastries, a crank gramophone to entertain customers and small tables on which to play cards. This formula was an immediate success and contributed to the tourist development of the Versilia centre, also thanks to the frequentation by noble Tuscan families such as the Della Gherardesca, Rucellai and Rospigliosi families, and poets and intellectuals such as Repaci, Ungaretti, Montale, Levi and Pea. In 1939 a fire destroyed it, and its present form is the one in which it was rebuilt. Another golden age of the Capannina was the 1950s and 1960s, when singers such as Gino Paoli, Edoardo Vianello, Bruno Lauzi, as well as Ray Charles, Grace Jones, Gloria Gaynor, Billy Preston, Ornella Vanoni and Patty Pravo took turns on its stage.

In 2024 the Armani Group reported consolidated net revenues of €2.3 billion, down 5% on the previous year at constant exchange rates (down 6% at current exchange rates). This year marks the 50th anniversary of the group, founded in Milan by Armani and Galeotti on 24 July 1975. To mark the anniversary, a new project has been announced, Armani/Archivio, an interactive digital platform that will be launched on Saturday 30 August during the Venice Film Festival, an exhibition and a fashion show in the Cortile d'Onore of the Pinacoteca di Brera, to be held on 28 September during the next edition of Milan Fashion Week. In the museum spaces of the Armani/Silos, on the other hand, the exhibition "Giorgio Armani Privé 2005-2025, Twenty Years of Haute Couture", an excursus, curated by Giorgio Armani himself, through his most precious collections, can be visited until 28 December. (Ch.B.)