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Located on the Salentine Peninsula in southern Italy, Grecìa Salentina is an area that lives and breathes design culture. Between October 2 and 5, Martano (Lecce) is hosting Agorà Design, a biennial festival that explores creative, project-driven responses to cultural and social themes in architecture, design, innovation, and diverse project contexts. Organized by Radio Salentina in collaboration with several public and private groups, the 2025 edition is subtitled “Il progetto necessario”, which is also the theme of an associated competition open to professionals and students. With the public ready to join in and creatives primed to inspire, this four-day, open-to-all festival will transform the city of Martano into a hub of design culture.
“Agorà Design is much more than a design and architecture event. It’s an opportunity for lively and inclusive dialogue, where individuals, communities, and institutions come together to grow together,” says Lucia Rescio, general manager of the festival’s main sponsor, Sprech, a Salento firm specializing in the manufacture and supply of outdoor structures. “Our aim is to offer a rich, accessible, and stimulating cultural experience, where everyone can learn, talk, experiment, and have fun.”
The theme of this year’s festival centers on the meaning of necessity as the vital impulse that has historically driven architecture and design. “From providing for basic needs to developing sustainable, inclusive, and adaptable solutions, design today means taking on contemporary challenges without losing sight of design’s core principles,” the organizers commented. “Simplicity, functionality, durability, and harmony with the context remain the cornerstones of any necessary project.”
Over 150 professionals and students were invited to build on Dieter Rams’s “less, but better” philosophy and design original strategies for indoor and outdoor spaces that enhance quality of life and engage with a society in constant evolution. The selected projects will feature in an exhibition and be discussed during the four-day festival to offer hands-on experience with fresh design ideas.
Like every edition, Agorà Design serves as a key moment for connecting cultures, visions, and generations. The festival aims to bridge creativity and business, turning ideas into tangible, market-ready solutions.
Confirmed participants include industrial designer Giulio Iacchetti; artist, architect, and designer Arturo Vittori; daughter of Achille Castiglioni and vice president and general secretary of his foundation Giovanna Castiglioni; Raul Pantaleo, founder of TAMassociati; University of Florence professor Antonio Capestro; senior partners from AMDL CIRCLE, founded by Michele De Lucchi; and Francesco Zurlo, dean of the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano.
“Agorà is a platform for reflecting on design’s role in contemporary society and feeling part of a creative community in motion,” concluded Rescio.
For more information: www.agoradesign.it
© 40Mirrors, courtesy of Agorà Design
