Vicenza’s free design museum, where you’ll find Sottsass and a Mini wearing 37,000 mosaic tiles

About

Only 15 km west of Vicenza, in the industrial outskirts of Montecchio Maggiore, a former Bisazza factory has been converted into almost 7,000 square metres of monumental contemporary design. This is the reason to go: works by Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, Emilio Pucci, Jaime Hayon, Studio Job, Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders and Richard Meier are not presented as small design objects. British architect John Pawson’s 1:1 is an oval structure with an exterior covered in mosaic graduating from white to shades of grey. American architect Richard Meier’s Internal Time brings a composition of inclined white columns into the galleries. Both works were created for the foundation.

The photography collection adds another way to examine buildings. German photographer Candida Höfer’s large images of libraries invite attention to shelving, furniture and architectural symmetry. Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto examines modern architecture through softened forms, while Italian photographer Gabriele Basilico documents cities and their changing urban spaces.

Where can you see contemporary design in Vicenza?

Fondazione Bisazza brings together design, architecture and photography in Montecchio Maggiore, in the province of Vicenza, northern Italy. The permanent collection occupies the former factory of Bisazza, the glass mosaic manufacturer founded here in 1956. Inside, familiar objects acquire extraordinary proportions and surfaces: an armchair grows taller than its visitors, cars wear patterns made from thousands of glass tiles, and a fashion print extends across an entire wall. These works emerged from collaborations between the manufacturer and leading designers, artists and architects. Opened in 2012, the foundation gives those collaborations a public home. For travellers exploring Europe through its design collections, it adds a contemporary destination to a Vicenza itinerary better known for Palladio’s buildings.

Ettore Sottsass, a late work conceived for this room

Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass helped define some of the most adventurous currents in twentieth century design. Here, his Rediscovered Fragments of Mosaic, or Ritrovamenti di mosaico, was conceived specifically for the small, angular room that houses it.

The installation evokes incomplete mosaics discovered at archaeological sites. Fragments suggest a larger composition, leaving the visitor to imagine what might once have surrounded them. Created among Sottsass’s final projects before his death in 2007, it offers design enthusiasts a particular reason to visit Vicenza: an encounter with a work designed for this setting.

A Mini wearing 37,000 mosaic tiles

The Mini wears Bisazza project made its debut at Milan’s Salone del Mobile furniture fair in 2005. Patterns associated with clothing were adapted to the cars’ curved bodywork; the foundation displays tartan and floral versions. Each vehicle required 37,000 glass tiles, applied by two specialist mosaic makers over several days. A specially devised spatula helped distribute the adhesive evenly while preserving the car’s silhouette.  These Minis were made for exhibition and have no engines. The fascination is in the surface: a recognisable everyday object becomes an elaborate exercise in pattern, colour and craftsmanship.

Alessandro Mendini’s armchair, enlarged to 3.2 metres

The monumental Proust armchair is the work of Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini, who also served as Bisazza’s artistic director from 1995 to 1999. His original Proust chair, created in 1978, combined an ornate armchair with a painted pattern inspired by French artist Paul Signac. For an Italian design exhibition in Athens in 2005, Mendini developed an enormous version covered in glass mosaic. At 3.2 metres high, the chair makes its curves, flourishes and coloured surface visible at an entirely different scale. Move closer and the apparent pattern resolves into individual glass tiles.

Emilio Pucci, from fashion archive to a 24 metre wall

The Florentine fashion house Emilio Pucci became celebrated for colourful printed fabrics. At the foundation, its graphic language appears in Amélie, a geometric mosaic frieze installed in 2016. The work extends for 24 metres, reproducing a pattern from the house’s archives. For visitors interested in fashion and interiors, it offers a striking example of how a print can furnish a room at architectural scale.

Is Fondazione Bisazza free to visit?

Admission is free, with advance reservation required. Regular opening hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 11 am to 6 pm; additional openings appear in the booking calendar. Gallery texts are in Italian and English. The scheduled guided visits listed on the English booking page are in Italian. Families can reserve the Mosaic Hunt activity for children aged 6 to 13, while architects have a separate booking option for a visit to the Bisazza showroom.