March 01, 2023

The Italian book of innovation

On 28 November, at Rizzoli Bookshop in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, it has been presented The Italian Book of Innovation, published by Rizzoli and edited by Cristiano Seganfreddo, that narrates the Italy of startups. The volume collects 100 startups divided in 10 macro-areas, with 10 case-histories. It ranges from aerospace engineering to design, from digital to fashion, from food to green, from healthcare to robotics, from welfare to tourism, and sheds light on the young and innovative companies fabricating the future in every corner of Italy.

When reading, it is clear how startups are considered as active agents of social change, by culturally touching a country and reorienting its reference models: innovation is a structural action for society, and supporting that equals to build roads for the future. A task, this latter, that is perfectly in line with the philosophy that since the beginning has inspired Wenda’s work. Which is why also Wenda is part of the 100 innovative startups described in this book: in the Food section, you can find a comprehensive case-history, dedicated to the many innovations that Wenda has created up to today.

Also the book’s graphic project, by Alessio Avventuroso together with Agenzia del Contemporaneo, mirrors the incessant search for visual innovation: from the font, specifically designed by Think Work Observe, to Marina Rosso’s photo-stories. The volume ends with a follow-up on Progetto Marzotto, that through the years has created and sustained the Italian innovation ecosystem, and with an interview by Matteo Marzotto with the founder Giannino Marzotto.

Cristiano Seganfreddo, the work’s editor, is founder and director of Premio Gaetano Marzotto, and part of the Unicredit Advisory Board Italy. During the stages of processing that have later produced this book, he has endeavoured to seek for “the eyes, the passion, the visions, the hopes of new captains of industry. Names that you do not remember yet”. The book is also available in the English edition, and the international distribution channels are fully operational: a perfect chance to get to know more deeply the vibrant dynamism of Italian startups and their aspirations.