Set against the picturesque backdrop of Salento, Agorà Design Festival 2025 reinforced Martano as a key hub for contemporary design. The biennial event, supported by main sponsor Sprech, brought together architects, designers, students, and companies for an open dialogue on design, innovation, and social sustainability.
This year’s theme, “The Necessary Project,” encouraged reflection on a design approach born from real needs, one that united aesthetics, function, and responsibility. Exhibitions, talks, workshops, and installations animated the historic centre and the spaces of the Palazzo Baronale, where over eighty projects showcased solutions that improved everyday life while highlighting the diversity of design approaches.
The jury awarded ideas that blended research, craftsmanship, and contemporary vision, while the squares of Martano hosted prototypes created by Sprech based on the winning projects from the 2023 edition, turning the town into a true open-air gallery.
Special attention was given to younger generations through Agorà Design Kids, a workshop involving local schools, introducing children to design culture.
The festival will conclude with Agorà Design OFF, a path of exhibitions and installations hosted in the renovated Palazzo Ducale: from Arturo Vittori’s Warka Tower to Lo Spazio Morale by the Foundation of Architects of Reggio Emilia, and Alice Caracciolo’s Anatomies of the visible, the displays offer diverse perspectives on design as a form of solidarity and social storytelling.
“The success of Agorà Design Festival confirmed how design, when genuinely connected to people’s needs, can generate shared value,” said Lucia Rescio, General Manager of Sprech. “The festival was not just a competition, but an ongoing laboratory of dialogue between creativity and enterprise.”
Photo © Antonio Leo
