Mazda launches the 'Italian Excellence' project: 56 artisan works on display in Florence

A journey in 56 stages, from north to south Italy, to create a map of the most special craftsmen. This is how the Japanese car company Mazda decided to launch the 'Italian Excellence' project, which took the form of an exhibition dedicated to Italian craftsmanship that will be open in Florence from 12 to 24 June in the Sala delle Carrozze in Palazzo Medici Riccardi. The project, conceived and realised in collaboration with the San Sepolcro-based clothing company Inghirami and sponsored by the association of Historical Brands of Italy, aimed to involve artisans in the creation of artefacts that would show the affinities between the values of Japanese and Italian culture. Thus on display are 56 artefacts, selected during 56 stages of a tour that crossed Italy involving local dealers. A journey that lasted a year, as Mazda CEO Roberto Pietrantonio explained at a press conference this morning. Among the exhibits are paper clothes made by artist Caterina Crepax (daughter of cartoonist Guido), as well as leather accessories, Caltagirone ceramics and the new 'botanical gin' from the Morelli liqueur factory. Then design objects and sculptures, including Madre Terra (Cyclicity) by Luca Peppoloni: 62 cm high, it shows an olive tree made of rusted iron. Clear references to Japan arrive with artefacts inspired by traditional Japanese Kokeshi dolls, a symbol of simplicity and beauty, and those that take up the traditional Japanese musical instrument known as the shamisen: developed with 3 strings and played with a plectrum called bachi, it has a sound reminiscent of a banjo.