Cleto Munari, Italian design visionary, dies at 95

Cleto Munari, a pivotal figure in Italian design, died at his home in Brendola, Vicenza, at age 95. Born in Gorizia in 1930, he moved to Veneto and entered design relatively late, after early ventures in commerce and clothing. His breakthrough came in the 1970s through encounters with Carlo Scarpa (1973) and Ettore Sottsass, which shaped his cross-disciplinary approach. Munari transformed silverware, jewelry, and watchmaking into fields for contemporary experimentation, commissioning leading architects and designers. In 1982, he launched the celebrated Collezione Argenti with contributors including Scarpa, Gae Aulenti, Mario Bellini, Sottsass, Vico Magistretti, Hans Hollein, and Alessandro Mendini. Pieces entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He followed with a jewelry collection (1985) and watches by Sottsass, Hollein, Michael Graves, and Arata Isozaki (1987). Later, he explored Murano glass with Richard Meier, Massimiliano Fuksas, Mimmo Paladino, Matteo Thun, and Paolo Portoghesi. His project "The Five Pens" (2004) paired architects with Nobel laureates in literature, and "I Magnifici 7" (2008) included Dario Fo, Mark Strand, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Recent works included the marble collection "Essenza del Marmo" (2022). He was named Accademico Olimpico Onorario in 2016, and the exhibition "MondoCleto" at Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza (2017) surveyed his career. Munari continued designing until his final days.