Dal design nel territorio, al design per il territorio: per una nuova storia dell’approccio italiano ai contesti di progetto.

This paper aims to initiate a historical reflection on the evolution of Italian design, focusing on its transition from a dimension strongly tied to local cultural, manufacturing, and production contexts (design in the territory) to increasingly broader visions that view the territory as a complex system to be enhanced through synergies among environment, resources, economies, cultures, and communities (design for the territory). This shift, which gained momentum in the late 1990s alongside the broadening scope of design as a discipline, marked a move away from the primacy of the product to the centrality of the “territorial product-system”. This approach aligns with European policies for the economic development of smaller regions and serves as a strategy for cities undergoing advanced post-industrial transitions (Magnaghi, 2000; Parente & Sedini, 2018, 2016; Villari, 2012). The paper seeks to trace a possible parallel history (Margolin, 1995, 2005), reinterpreting certain phenomena of territorial enhancement driven by design. In its early stages, these processes engaged local skills, cultures, and production systems, and progressively included communities in these dynamics. This contribution begins by analyzing the first phase, exploring the cultural debate of the 1950s around local craftsmanship versus industrial production in the *Made in Italy* context (Follesa, 2013; Koening, 1981), and the cultural, social, and design contributions of key figures such as Giò Ponti, Roberto Mango, Ugo La Pietra, and Enzo Mari (De Giorgi, 1995; Casciani, 1988; Gambardella, 2020; Guida, 2006). In particular, an interview with Ugo La Pietra will delve into his research experience with the Genius Loci project (1987-2000), which involved collaboration with local artisan expertise across various regions of Italy and developed strategies for defining territorial design, a precursor to phenomena still ongoing today (Follesa, 2013; La Pietra, 1999, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021). The interest in initiating a historical exploration of the roots of Design per il territorio lies in recognizing contemporary opportunities for development, innovation, and distinctiveness within Italian design. These opportunities span production (Micelli, 2011), as well as strategic and social domains (Manzini, 2015; Margolin, 2002), by recovering and valuing territorial cultural diversity.