Unique pieces and limited editions: the names and visions that animate the first edition of Salone Raritas

Within the 64th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, Hall 9 baptises a new paradigm: Salone Raritas. Curated icons, unique objects and outsider pieces. Curated by Annalisa Rosso with exhibition design by Formafantasma, the project is not just an aesthetic showcase, but a cultural and commercial operation that aims to integrate hitherto distinct market segments. In fact, for the first time, the Salone is bringing together the language of collectible design and high-profile antiques with the operational dimension of the international market. This is a strategic response to the growing demand for valuable tangible assets: unique pieces and limited editions that transform the object from a simple piece of furniture into a bearer of identity, value and cultural capital, positioning the Milanese event as a global hub not only for serial production, but also for high collectibles.

The path of this first edition winds its way through a selection that sees historical Italian realities dialoguing with global avant-gardes that are in many cases entering Rho Fiera for the first time. Italian excellence is represented by diametrically opposed but complementary visions. Paradisoterrestre, a historic brand of Italian desgin founded by Bologna-based entrepreneur Dino Gavina and relaunched in 2017 by Gherardo Tonelli, brings to the stage the value of authorial re-edition, demonstrating how the design of the 1970s can still generate value in the contemporary market. With a dual soul as brand and gallery, between limited editions and historical pieces, Paradisoterrestre presents a vintage living set signed by Carlo Scarpa and, for the first time, the limited edition re-editions of the Ore Tre, Mezzanotte and Rombo lamps born from the imagination of the surrealist artist Roberto Matta, which are added to the catalogue with the artworks Margarita and Sacco Alato, designed for the Ultramobile collection conceived by Gavina in 1971.

On the material experimentation front, Raritas hosts the collaboration between Salviati (founded in Murano in 1859, one of the most prestigious and ancient glassworks in the Venetian lagoon) for Draga & Aurel, a multidisciplinary studio based in Como, founded in 2007 by Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow specialising in resin for both design pieces and paintings, who have always been interested in transparent materials, reflections and colours. Together they elevate Murano glass to a living material: the encounter between the tradition of a furnace active since 1859 and the language of resin transforms craftsmanship into sculptural art with high collecting potential.

Intergenerational dialogue is at the heart of the proposal of Brun Fine Art, an international art gallery with branches in Milan and Florence, a point of reference in high-profile collecting. With a solid international experience, Augusto and Marco Brun's gallery emphasises the continuity between the great Italian and European sculpture of past centuries and modern design. This historical solidity is complemented by the emerging perspective of Abi: an Egyptian brand that reworks the millenary aesthetics of stone through collaborations with international designers, building a bridge between the heritage of the pharaohs and European functional minimalism, with the aim of responding to a market in search of lasting authenticity.

At the Salone Raritas, Bruno Botticelli and Alessandra Di Castro combine the heritage of their historic galleries in Florence and Rome in a joint exhibition project dedicated to excellence. Through ten unique works ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th century, Botticelli's profound knowledge of sculpture meets Di Castro's expertise in decorative arts and precious materials. This dialogue between marble, bronze and wood proposes a contemporary vision of the antique, demonstrating how great classical art can dialogue with sophisticated naturalness in contemporary living.