The 10th edition of the Italian Design Day (IDD) opens today in Slovenia with the panel “RE-DESIGN. Regenerating spaces, objects, ideas, relationships” organised by the Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Trade Agency.
The meeting, hosted by the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana (MAO), partner in the event, and moderated by its director, Arch. Maja Vardjan, will begin with opening remarks by Ambassador Giuseppe Cavagna and will address the theme of regeneration as a key to rethinking the role of contemporary design.
Speakers will include the testimonial of Italian Design, Arch. Pippo Ciorra, senior curator at MAXXI in Rome, and the Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc.
Tomorrow, 6th March 2026, Architect Pippo Ciorra will continue his visit to Slovenia by stopping in Izola, where he will take part in a meeting with students from Slovenian schools in which Italian is the language of instruction, as part of a programme curated by the Consulate General of Italy in Koper.
In line with this ongoing presence, Italy will also participate again this year in the BIG SEE Festival 2026, the main Slovenian sectoral event organised by Zavod Big – Big See, which will take place in Portorož from 21st to 22nd May, with an institutional stand presenting an illustrative exhibition of Italian Design Day. The 2026 edition proposes the theme “Too Much? What is just enough?”, a reflection on the need to rediscover measure and relevance in an era marked by an excess of products, buildings and information. Awards, conferences, exhibitions and the fair will explore the concept of “enough”, analysed through the themes of measure, responsibility, urban humanity and the future. In this context, the theme “RE-DESIGN. Regenerating spaces, objects, ideas, relationships” fits perfectly into the international debate, offering an Italian perspective on regeneration as a concrete response to the question: “what is truly necessary?”
The Italian Design Day 2026 is promoted and organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture – Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity, and is an integral part of the strategy to promote Italian design. The initiative originates from the Permanent Table for the internationalisation of design, which brings together key institutions and players – including the Ministry of Culture, ADI, the Compasso d’Oro Foundation, Salone del Mobile, Triennale di Milano, FederlegnoArredo, Altagamma Foundation and Confindustria – with the aim of promoting the excellence of Italian design worldwide. From 2017 to 2025, IDD generated approximately 1700 events in over 60 countries, involving more than 1000 designers, architects, entrepreneurs, academics and journalists. For 2026, the international network of the Italian Trade Agency has already identified around 70 countries in which to organise dedicated initiatives.
In 2024, the total trade between Italy and Slovenia in the furniture and lighting sector recorded a total value of over 179 million euro. Italy confirmed its position as Slovenia’s second largest partner, preceded by Germany, with a market share of 9.8%.
