MARU
Pinetum Design 7 × Cotto Manetti · Villa Gaeta, Montevarchi · September 2023
CLIENT: Pinetum Design 7 × Cotto Manetti
WHEN: September 2023
WHERE: Villa Gaeta, Montevarchi
MATERIAL: Florentine cotto
Maru is an outdoor furniture collection in Florentine cotto designed by Elena Pelosi for Pinetum Design 7 with Cotto Manetti and shown at Villa Gaeta in Montevarchi. The project was introduced in a talk at MAD Murate Art District in Florence.
The name means “circle” in Japanese and “priest” in ancient Etruscan. The collection draws on the circular forms of sacred monuments such as Stonehenge and the Pantheon dome, and on twisted columns: the helical thickness of seats and vases gives them dynamism and an almost sacred charge.
Cotto, a local material whose mix of minerals resists weather and abrasion, gives each piece an irregular beauty. Two modules change function with the composition: a seat becomes a vase or a small table, a circular partition a backrest or a table base. Designed for parks and public gardens, it also works indoors.
Pinetum Design explores art, design and nature to outline a new identity for historic parks, with Luisa Bocchietto, Giulio Cappellini and Matteo Thun as mentors.
For commissions and collaborations with brands, spaces and institutions, please email studio@elenapelosi.com.
