1925 - 1958
IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS WOOD
As everyone knows, the events leading to the birth of Italian design in the twentieth century are marked by two World Wars. Big industries like Olivetti and Fiat already have a well-defined image in the early 1900s, which they mature after WW1 and resurrect after WW2. The twenties also mark the start of activity for the Fortuna family business in the residential building sector, mainly in the production of doors and windows, which, due to the precision required for the manufacture of these construction components, have an essential technical DNA. Immediately after World War Two, and still bearing the family name, the company begins to gradually shift towards the production of bespoke furnishings, kitchens included. Through to the fifties, when its lengthy experience in carpentry, also influenced by Scandinavian design, leads to the intuition that the time has come to abandon the “heavy” idea of metal, long used for making constructive elements in kitchens, in favour of the “light” alternative of natural wood. This return to a material that softens the somewhat rigid geometrics of modernist design coincides with a generational handover to the second generation, founder Silvio’s children, who work alongside him in market orientation and product design.
The Forties, the Fortuna wood-workshop
The founder Silvio Fortuna Senior
