Design from the Alps: A Crossroads of Creative Trajectories in Merano

The exhibition 'Design from the Alps' at Kunst Meran/o Arte in Merano explores the Trentino-Alto Adige region as an unexpected crossroads of design, bringing together over 200 objects from the 1930s to the present. Curated by Claudio Larcher, Massimo Martignoni, and Ursula Schnitzer, the show is the result of more than two years of research into the evolution of modern design with a European curatorial perspective. The exhibition is divided into three floors: the first focuses on industrial products from the valley, including Carlo Abarth's famous exhausts and Caproni's post-WWII civilian motorcycles like the Capriolo Cento50, as well as the Unda company's Radiorurale radio (1933–1940), produced in Dobbiaco for collective listening in fascist after-work programs. The second floor is dedicated to craftsmanship and domestic design, featuring the first Cocoon lamps by the Castiglioni brothers for Artur Eisenkeil, Dino Gavina, and Cesare Cassina—precursors to Flos—still handcrafted today. Also on display are unique pieces like Fortunato Depero's Campari lamp (c. 1932), furniture by Baldessari e Baldessari, food packaging for Zuegg, toys, and lightweight alpine equipment. The exhibition highlights how designers such as Depero, Othmar Barth, and Ettore Sottsass chose the Trentino area as a base for their studios, creating a fertile intersection of aesthetic and cultural trajectories between Munich, Venice, Vienna, and Milan.