Stendhal said, “beauty is nothing other than the promise of happiness”. And he knew all about beauty! For us, happiness is being able to make innovative, smart, useful and beautiful products that express the wishes of the designers who have created them and anticipate those of consumers.

The beauty behind our success also, and above all, lies in the environment all around us: Kristalia’s new headquarters and our local area.

The transparent nature of our buildings ensures continuous and seamless pervasiveness of such beauty.

We know that this happy environment has a profound affect: on our mood, creativity and, like a virtuous circle, also on the profitability (tangible and intangible) of the products we make in this area.

From landscapes to art and from cinema to literature, the places of the Friuli region offer many excellent qualities.

For example, the Parco delle Dolomiti Friulane (Friulian Dolomites Park) with its 37,000 hectares of fragrances and colours, including the Guglie dei Monfalconi and the Val Cimoliana. Nature is clearly a source of inspiration for our products while 360-degree sustainability has become a spontaneous requirement for Kristalia.

The same can be said of ancient, medieval and Romanesque/Gothic art such as the Abbazia Benedettina di Sesto al Reghena and the Castello di Spilimbergo. We can also mention St. Mark’s Cathedral in Pordenone, which houses the “Pala della Misericordia” (Altarpiece of Mercy) by Antonio de Sacchis. We can continue with the routes that include the happy location of Portobuffole, on the upper stretch of the River Livenza, renowned for being one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, and one of the “delicious” ones, with its red wines, apples and pumpkins.

Not to mention the most recent tradition, which has led to the formation around Pordenone of a renowned reputation for avant-garde and intellectual activity. From the 1940s onwards, Casarsa was the home town of Pier Paolo Pasolini that inspired his famous poems and now hosts a study centre for the protection of the Friulian language – to which the poet from Bologna devoted much of his life and research, whereas in the 1970s, Pordenone was the cradle of a special punk culture – the “Great Complotto” – renowned for its absolute independence from other punk and new wave scenes existing in Italy at the same time. And in those very same years, the alternative magazine “Re nudo” referred to Pordenone as “the fringe of freak counterculture in north-east Italy”.

Still today, the town hosts several popular events such as the “PordenoneLegge” literary festival, which attracts internationally famous writers, philosophers, intellectuals, poets and scientists every year. We must not forget the “Le Giornate del Cinema Muto” (Silent Film Festival), dedicated to the “seventh art”, to which Pordenone has always given special attention.
We can continue with permanent art galleries and associations that ensure cultural continuity and artistic ferment of a Central European nature. For example, the Desk Dance association not only organises design exhibitions, concerts and performances but also designs gardens and allotments in different areas of the municipality with a special focus on sustainability.
Then there is the Galleria Harry Bertoia, named after one of the most eccentric 20th century designers, born in Pordenone, now housed in the architectural complex of Palazzo Spelladi. Last but not least are the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Armando Pizzinato, the Museo Civico d’Arte, the Teatro Verdi and the Cinema Zero, which attracts an international audience thanks to its extraordinary photographic archive.

This overview of what the local area has to offer reminds us, on the one hand, of the pride and privilege of having founded our company on these remarkable roots, and on the other, of our gratefulness to this area, because if – as mentioned at the beginning – beauty is a promise of happiness, then we must undertake to preserve, relaunch and support the wonderful place all around us and, if possible, even improve it.