Lake Como Design Festival 2026

Since its launch in 2018, the Lake Como Design Festival has aimed to establish an original dialogue between history, design, architecture and art through a themed grouping of exhibitions, reflections and studies. Rooted in history as well as experimentation, the festival opens up doors to historic places in the region and spotlights its contemporary design community. For its 8th edition, Lake Como Design Festival has selected the theme, Border, and will feature a series of exhibitions and installations across the city of Como, including the lake itself, and new venues in Lecco. “Border” is not meant to be a literal line of separation but more about a space for encounter, “a threshold where relationships, tensions, and transformations emerge.” It is also a reference to the extended growth of the Festival, which has expanded outside of its usual borders and into new venues and with new collaborations, including an exhibition programme developed with the region’s higher education institutions: the University of Insubria, the Como Conservatory, the Aldo Galli Academy of Como / IED – Istituto Europeo di Design, and the Politecnico di Milano – Lecco Campus. This initiative is a way for the Festival to reach younger audiences and inspire a new generation into design, architecture and art.

As in previous editions, the Villa del Grumello is a centre point of the Festival featuring several exhibitions including Future in the Past, which explores the relationship between memory and design; installations by Lupo Borgonovo with Disegno Nomade, Nicolo Spinelli and Meda-based woodworking studio Simonetto, a presentation of Lina Bo Bardi’s furniture, and Proporzione Mediterranea, conceived by Annarita Aversa of Architetti Artigiani Anonimi, which looks at the vernacular architecture of the Mediterranean, such as the vaulted houses of the Amalfi Coast, among others. Outdoor installations will be installed across the Villa’s park, with an exhibition that tells the stories of six people who have chosen to inhabit the boundary between the city and the wilderness.

The Contemporary Design Selection at Villa Saporiti is curated by Giovanna Massoni and directed by Francesca Prandelli and features independent designers, studios, architects, artists, craftspeople, collectives and galleries who will respond the theme of “Border.” Projects in this exhibition take on multiple forms and interpretations, from work that questions the role of design in contemporary society including the value of craft and relationships with manufacturing to collaboration and political and social aspects of design. It also explores the border in terms of multiple uses, between art, design and technology, material experimentation, failure and innovation.

Other highlights of the Lake Como Design Festival include Fine Comune at the Church of Santa Caterina, an exhibition exploring the concepts of limits and sharing, developed under the creative direction of Ultrapresent Studio. The show brings together sculptures by Luca Monterastelli, pieces by Free System done by Acerbis, collectible design pieces from Movimento Gallery and handcrafted rugs by cc-tapis; An exhibition on the artistic collaboration between Ico Parisi and Guiliano Collina will be on view, showcasing their over two-decade partnership including La Ruota gallery; and the Studio Visit programme, which opens the doors of design studios, galleries, ateliers, and archives across the region to the public. There will also be guided tours of the architecture of Rationalist Como, offering visitors the opportunity to explore one of the city’s most significant architectural legacies.

Lake Como Design Festival takes place between September 12-20, 2026. For more information visit: Lake Como Design Festival.

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