What does Made in Italy really mean?
03.2022
There is a special cachet associated with products that are 100% Made in Italy, but what does it really mean and how do we interpret it?
The true meaning and value of Made in Italy
It can seem almost a cliché to associate the phrase “Made in Italy” with quality, but, as always, clichés do tend to contain at least a grain of truth and it is hard to argue that when craftsmanship has its origins in Italian soil, there is more often than not a wonderful cocktail of ingenuity, creativity and inventiveness.
We live in a world dominated by mass industrialisation and in which business and manufacturing techniques enable a level of output that was unthinkable just two decades ago. The inevitable flip side of this, however, is the homogenisation of both products and places. “You can find us anywhere” may be a slick motto, but it comes at the cost of originality and uniqueness.
This is why the Made in Italy concept is more important than ever now, and nowhere more so than in design. It challenges the cookie-cutter approach and puts the focus on originality, authenticity and creativity.
We take a look at how our company plays its part in this movement and the extraordinary contribution Made in Italy makes to the international design sector.
The Salvatori design philosophy: 100% Made in Italy and not 1% less
Artisanship delivers unique results but it requires patience and a lengthy process of research, training, learning and experimentation. It also demands commitment and a certain level of self-examination to understand the direction to take and what you wish to stand for in the eyes of the market. We think it’s fair to say that one of the reasons we have become a benchmark in the sector is that we have always been honest, not only about our goals and what we offer, but also with ourselves and our clients.
As a company, we have two focal points when it comes to our identity and these are Italy and the environment.
Our entire production process takes place on Italian soil meaning that when we talk about Made in Italy, we are talking 100% Made in Italy. This may seem blindingly obvious, but unfortunately, in today’s global marketplace, it often happens that only a part of the manufacturing process occurs within our national boundaries. We are proud to say that a Salvatori product only ever goes outside Italy when it is destined for a client in another country, and never before.
We feel passionately about this. Our production base on the Tuscan coast is where the three generations of the Salvatori family who have run the company have grown up and it is where we have developed a special kind of alchemy over the decades which combines old-fashioned craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.
This profound attachment to our territory is intrinsically linked to our second focus, which is the environment. Our love and respect for the incredible nature that surrounds us guides the way we work and we do all we can to ensure that the way we work is as respectful to the environment as possible, while we are also committed to developing products created from offcuts so that we can reduce the amount of beautiful natural stone that is wasted.
Made in Italy in numbers
To understand the importance of Italian design on the world scene, we simply have to look at a few numbers. 29,000 Italian companies work in the sector, an amount that is only bettered in Europe by France with 34,000. In terms of revenue, we are also in second place, with the United Kingdom at the top of the table. Italian design businesses bring in over 4 billion euro every year and over 17% of all people employed in design in the EU are Italian.
Impressive numbers indeed, and even more so when you consider that the design sector accounts for 0.15% of the Italian GDP, double the European average, making it clear that the importance of Made in Italy design goes beyond outstanding quality and aesthetics to encompass a significant economic aspect.
In summary, the Made in Italy model is crucial to both the international design sector and the Italian economy. At Salvatori we believe that it represents the benchmark in quality and excellence, and it is something we are extremely proud to have at the heart of our business.
If you are also passionate about Made in Italy values and design, we invite you to browse our website and read more about what makes us tick as a company. And, if you have any questions or would like to know more about the way we work or our products, please get in touch.
Discover this enchanting villa designed by Marco Carini, where our natural stone is in perfect harmony with the surrounding forest.
The Milan pied-a-terre of our CEO Gabriele Salvatori opened its doors during the week of Salone del Mobile 2017 giving visitors from around the world a rare look into a special building in the heart of the buzzing Brera design district.
