The Salerno Design Week 2026 focuses on the relationship between design and nautical, exploring how creative and technological skills combine to create innovative products and spaces. The theme of the project is developed through a complex chain, in which research on materials, efficiency, technology and sustainability must dialogue with the identity of the vessel. The event takes place in Marina d’Arechi, a place that represents a meeting point between the local territory and the international dimension of the yacht.
Design as a connection tool
Design is no longer an added element to the product, but a structural component of the design, realization and identity of a vessel. This approach extends to the whole chain, where yards, ports, components and materials processing companies constitute a network in which design can become an element of connection between manufacturing tradition and innovation. The Salerno Design Week aims to enhance the local manufacturing sector and the excellence of the Salernitano design, creating opportunities for comparison between enterprises, universities, communities and new generations.
The nautical project is now the result of a chain in which different skills are shared and in which research on materials, efficiency, technology, on-board comfort and, more and more, sustainability must dialogue with the identity of the boat. A process that, especially in the high market, requires a growing specialization and a capacity to work on customized solutions.
An experience between art and nautical space
The program of the day takes place in two main moments. The first is the talk “Blu Design. As design builds the water supply chain”, scheduled at 5 pm on the Terrace of Marina d’Arechi. The comparison will involve representatives of the world of nautical and design, with the aim of analyzing the role of design and innovation in the development of a sector in which the aesthetic component is inseparable from that technical and productive. The second moment is the inauguration of the work “In the Wind”, created by the artist Ivano Troisi and curated by Gianpaolo Cacciottolo and Adriana Rispoli, in collaboration with the Fondazione Filiberto and Bianca Menna.
This installation represents the first stage of a project that will bring in the spaces of the marina the work of young artists from Salerno. The connection with the boat passes through the concept of space: the port is not only considered as a functional place for mooring and services for boats, but as part of an urban system in which they can live productive activities, culture and design. The choice of Marina d’Arechi as the seat of the appointment dedicated to the nautical is also significant for the very nature of the place: a harbour infrastructure that constitutes a meeting point between the territory of Salento and the international dimension of the nautical from diporto. The Salerno Design Week is an opportunity to explore design not only as a creative discipline, but as a tool to relate production, innovation and territory.