Made in Meda: the roots of the future

Filippo Berto, CEO of BertO, has brought the roots of authentic design back to light. The design of things made by hand, in Meda

“Made in Meda. Il futuro del design ha già mille anni”, by Filippo Berto.
“Made in Meda. Il futuro del design ha già mille anni”, by Filippo Berto.

Meda is at the center of one of the most famous and active districts of design and Made in Italy, namely Brianza. The roots of this tale date back to the Early Middle Ages, when the abbesses who lived in the monastery of San Vittore – now Villa Antona Traversi – had the practical intuition of giving the peasants “something to do” during the long winter months.

Villa Antona Traversi, Meda.
Villa Antona Traversi, Meda.

Filippo Berto, CEO of the design firm BertO, wanted to trace back into that past, to enhance the present and lay the groundwork for a better future. Extensive research conducted for over a year made it possible to rediscover the guidelines of an artisanal movement that made handiwork an absolute value. A number of fundamental stages have led to the present reality.

CFP Terragni, Meda.
CFP Terragni, Meda.

The result of this work is “Made in Meda (il futuro del design ha già mille anni)” (Made in Meda – the future of design is already a thousand years old), a book with 8 chapters crossing that millennium with the immediate approach of digital media – which Berto knows well (he opened his first blog back in 2003) – and strong visual impact.

Filippo Berto
Filippo Berto

A book-non-book that is a flood of quotations, concepts, historical images, dates that have become milestones in the history of furniture and décor. An “indignant” book, like its author, and above all like his father (Fioravante) and his uncle (Carlo), founders of BertO in 1974. They have passed down the “art of anger” to Filippo, as a motor with which to become a good entrepreneur without forgetting one’s roots, in actions, not in words.

Giorgio Berto, Meda.
Giorgio Berto, Meda.

To spread the word about the book a press tour was organized in Meda. It was rather out of the ordinary: not a visit to the company, but a tour of Villa Antona Traversi and its frescos, the Terragni Professional Training Center (CFP), and even another company, P&G Cugini Lanzani.

P & G Cugini Lanzani, Meda.
P & G Cugini Lanzani, Meda.

Three atypical stops to discover that age-old origins of Made in Meda, three stops for three principles Berto believes are indispensable: roots, training, heritage. A modus operandi that implies doing what one says, rather than just saying and not doing. Leo Longanesi would have been pleased, as a man of brilliant wit and hard facts: “Instead of conservation, Italy prefers inauguration”.