Italian Design Workshop in Lecce, Italy

Italian Design

A 2-week workshop in Italy to dive deeper into the world of Italian Design

Workshop Description

Embark on a captivating journey of innovation, tradition, and creativity in the heart of Italy’s architectural splendor, Salento. Join us for an extraordinary summer design course and workshop set amidst the Baroque beauty of Lecce, a city renowned for its limestone marvels. Our adventure is in collaboration with PIMAR, a leader in limestone architecture and design products.

This course offers an unparalleled opportunity to dive into the world of limestone, a material of astonishing versatility and a staple in local architecture. Through hands-on experience, you’ll learn about the stone’s unique properties, witnessing its transformative journey from raw material to design masterpieces.

Our program is tailored to spark your creativity and expand your design horizons. Engage with local artisans, absorbing centuries-old techniques blended with modern technological advancements. This fusion of tradition and innovation is at the heart of our course, offering a fresh perspective on design aesthetics.

Your guide, an expert in Italian design, will lead you through an immersive learning experience. You’ll explore different important concepts when working with materials like limestone. This focus will challenge and refine your design thinking, pushing you to create your own unique design objects.

But it’s not all work; the stunning landscapes and pristine seaside of Lecce await. Immerse yourself in the scenic beauty of Salento, where inspiration lies around every corner. This isn’t just a course; it’s an opportunity to live and breathe the essence of Italian design, make lifelong connections, and leave with skills that will elevate your architectural and design prowess.

Don’t miss this chance to blend learning with the beauty of Italian summer. Join us in Salento for a design experience that will resonate throughout your career.

Students will:

• Discover Italian approach to design
• Develop understanding and conceptual skills from design to production
• Work on a design project with a real design company

Open to: University students and older

The course is designed for qualified applicants, such as students who are attending the final years of University studies in Architecture, Interior Design and Industrial Design, or newly graduated young professionals interested in enriching their personal knowledge and understanding of the field.

Applicants need to have mastered representation technique skills such as drawing, sketching and rendering visual communication skills such as computer graphics and rendering, as well as model making and verbal communication skills.

Students will be able widen their knowledge on Italian approach to design and enhance design skills through:

• lectures dedicated to the Italian masters of design
• visits to PIMAR limestone company and quarries
• see the complexities of extraction and production
• experience the whole process of design

This holistic course will include lectures, visits, critiques along with studio time for reviews and discussions. Visiting quarries, showrooms and a real company will introduce students to the complexity of developing a design product as well as an introduction to Italian design culture. Working on projects, participants will express their own creativity through sketches, drawings and renders, focusing on the complexities of design, process, material and technological limits. The aim of the course is to explore the Italian approach to design and define a method by letting students’ own language emerge.

A sample of some of the activities included for 2024 are:

• Work in close contact with a real design company
• Visit limestone quarries
• Experience design process as a professional
• Get to know the limestone architectural and decoration quality of a rich area such as Salento
• Get to know the amazing surroundings, landscape, history and unexpected area of craftsmanship and design production
• Learning about traditional materials and interpretate them with a contemporary vision

It’s all about the experience

The Italian Design Workshop will be 4 hours per day with afternoons free to explore the area.

**Group Rates Available. Please contact us for discounts. 

What Is Included

• Course: 40 hours (afternoons and weekend will be free )
• Accommodation: Participants will stay in furnished apartments in Lecce with wi-fi and air conditioning. Apartments will be available the day before the course starts until the day after it finishes.
• Welcome reception and drink
• 24-hour access to our representative
• Certificate at end of course
• Local in-country coordinators: All coordination teams are English speaking. Aside from the local support from your in-country team you’ll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you’re overseas.

What Is Not Included

• Health insurance. Each participant must show proof of medical coverage throughout stay in Florence, Italy.
• Flights are not included but Go Inspired can assist you in making your travel arrangements. We will meet you when you arrive in Florence
• Food

Excursions

Participants will have the option of participating in various excursions (some are at an additional cost).

• Visit to Otranto and fantastic beach
• One day boat tour
• A guided visit around Lecce to learn about the history, food and traditions
• Pizzica

Additional Information

• Bring comfortable clothing for the workshop.
• Visas: If coming from outside Europe, please check to see visa requirements of your country. If coming from the United States/Canada, it is not necessary to have a visa if you will be studying less than 90 days.

Meet PIMAR Italian limestone
Pimar’s activities, carried out by the Marrocco family, include the extraction of stone blocks from the quarries owned by the company, a rich site extending over an area of 40 hectares in a particular territory, the Salento in Puglia. Its calcareous constituent components give to the limestone its compactness and special luminosity, while its unique structure is enriched by the presence of fossil fragments. Various types of stone are extracted, which differ in terms of colour, homogeneity, age and composition; in particular, we should mention the pale yellow, white and grey types. This millenary and calcareous stone is a natural resource, processed skillfully by master craftsmen who continue nowadays to enhance its creative use in many fields, including the building industry, street furnishings, interior design. A goal that only a made in Italy product such as Pimar natural limestone can ensure, thanks to the passion and the ultra-centenary experience, that allowed Pimar to be known all over the world.

Meet The Instructor

Katia Santuccio, 

Born in Milan and holding a degree in Architecture from Florence University, she merges her contemporary mindset with the finesse and expertise cultivated during her years living and working in Florence.

Fueled by curiosity and a versatile approach, she has delved into various realms of design, contributing to architectural offices, collaborating with furniture companies, writing for Design magazines, and curating cultural events intertwined with design.

With an unwavering passion for teaching, she has left her mark at institutions such as Politecnico Milano, IED European Design Institute, and American universities hosting architecture and design programs in Florence. Her evolution in education reflects a distinctive perspective, viewing didactics as an avenue for exploration and connection.

Since 2012, she has been at the helm of summer design workshops with GoInspired, leading international students in the exploration of novel interior and design concepts.

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Participants Love It

Katia does a very good job at getting us to expand our minds and think differently, as long as the group is up for being pushed out of their comfort zone I think we learn a lot. Katia has an incredible base of knowledge about architects and designers. All in all it was a blast and I am still sharing what I learned!