Arcipelago Italia: B2B merch for architecture firms, sponsors and design schools

Merchandising around the Arcipelago Italia programme

Season

Spring to autumn of each cycle year, with a main travelling exhibition and a network of satellite venues

Main venues

MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo (Rome); Triennale Milano; Padiglione Italia at the Venice Architecture Biennale; the Civic Museums of the Italian inner areas (the network of small towns and inner areas participating in the Arcipelago Italia map); the Italian architecture schools (the Facoltà di Architettura of the Politecnico di Milano, the Facoltà di Architettura of the Università di Roma La Sapienza, the Facoltà di Architettura of the Università di Firenze, the Università IUAV di Venezia, the Politecnico di Torino, the Università di Bologna, the Università di Napoli Federico II, the Università di Palermo, the Università di Cagliari, the Università della Calabria); the architecture conferences (REAs RE-M 2018, REAs RE-M 2022); the design week venues (Milano Design Week, Roma Design Week, Torino Design Week)

Organisation

MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Triennale Milano, La Biennale di Venezia (Architettura), the Italian Ministry of Culture (Ministero della Cultura), the Italian Ministry of the Interior (Ministero dell'Interno), the Italian National Council of Architects (Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori, CNAPPC), Mario Cucinella Architects (MC A), the Fondazione MAXXI Italia per l'Architettura, the Ordini degli Architetti of every Italian region and province, the Italian design studios (Mario Cucinella Architects, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Stefano Boeri Architetti, Cino Zucchi Architetti, Piuarch, Studio Fuksas, ABDR Architetti Associati, Archea Associati, Labics, Nemesi & Partners, Park Associati, 5+1AA, CZA, Cino Zucchi, Michele De Lucchi, Studio Marco Piva, Dante O. Benini & Partners, Lombardini22, DEGW, One Works, RPBW, RGA, Officina di Architettura, Pivato, Studio Boeri, LabF3, SETA, ACPV ARCHITECTS, Persico, Fondazione MAXXI, the network of Italian design and architecture firms)

Arcipelago Italia is a research and exhibition project on the Italian inner areas and small towns, curated by Mario Cucinella (founder of MC A - Mario Cucinella Architects) with the support of MAXXI Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Triennale Milano and the Italian Ministry of Culture. The programme maps the architectural, urban and cultural conditions of the Italian inner areas, with a travelling exhibition that visits the principal Italian architecture venues, a series of publications edited by the curatorial team, a network of conferences held in the Italian architecture schools and a calendar of workshops and events coordinated with the Ordini degli Architetti of every Italian region. Since its first edition the project has combined research on the Italian inner areas, design proposals for the reactivation of small towns, exhibitions and conferences, and it has been presented at the Triennale Milano, at MAXXI in Rome, at the Padiglione Italia at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and at the architecture schools of every Italian university.

For architecture firms, urban planners, design studios, sponsors and design schools that wish to mark the Arcipelago Italia programme with their own merchandising — branded editions of the official catalogue, technical merchandise for the curatorial and sponsor teams, room materials for the MAXXI and Triennale Milano exhibitions, archive boxes for the Italian architecture schools, model objects for the design week venues, limited pieces for the award ceremonies of the architecture firms — planning opens in early winter. The production districts to engage are Lazio and Lombardy for the paper and printing (the printing houses of Roma, Milano, Bergamo, Brescia), the Tuscany paper cluster for the archival editions (Firenze, Siena), the Milan and Como textile district for the ribbon and packaging (Como silk, the Prato textile district), the Florentine leather goods district for the small leather objects (Scandicci, Ponte a Greve), the Maniago district (Friuli Venezia Giulia) for the steel objects and the technical stationery (rulers, set squares, compasses, dividers), the Murano district (Venice) for the limited glass editions, the Aretino gold and silver foil district (Arezzo) for the architecture award plaques, and the Lago di Garda cluster for the technical printing. For sponsors operating through the Milan and Rome hubs we also engage the Italian converter network (the Sofidel cluster for the tissue packaging, the Procter & Grafpack cluster for the heavy-duty packaging), the Italian mould-makers (the Brescia district), the Italian metalwork cluster (the Brescia and Maniago districts) and the Italian 3D printing houses (the Lombardy district).

From the Milan hub, Corp-Merch.IT runs the entire cycle: kick-off with the architecture firm's marketing director or with the head of the sponsor's cultural programme, graphic adaptation in coordination with the Arcipelago Italia brand book and the architecture firm's brand book, district producer qualification, physical pre-production sample with Pantone map and structured proposal within 48 working hours of the brief. For programmes that replicate the same Arcipelago Italia cycle over multiple years we set up an annual supply contract with seasonal reviews and dedicated volume pricing. For programmes that touch MAXXI, Triennale Milano, the Padiglione Italia at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the architecture schools we replicate the catalogue with point customisations, shared packaging and consolidated logistics through the Lombardy and Lazio sorting hubs.

For Italian clients holding a VAT number, invoices are issued via the Agenzia delle Entrate Sistema di Interscambio (SdI) with 22% VAT in EUR; reduced rates of 4%, 5% or 10% apply to eligible product categories (books, editorial print, art pieces, architecture publications). Reverse charge applies to intra-EU buyers registered with VIES, split payment applies to public-administration stands, and Codice Destinatario or PEC is used for electronic delivery of the invoice. For corporate clients reporting under CSRD (D.Lgs. 125/2024 transposing Directive (EU) 2022/2464) we provide a sustainability sheet per order with Scope 3 CO₂e estimates aligned with the GHG Protocol, ESRS E1 (Climate Change), E5 (Resource Use) and S2 (Workers in the Value Chain), useful for the architecture firm's non-financial disclosure. For programmes that reach international buyers we operate as Authorised Economic Operator (AEOF) and handle CMR, packing list, origin declaration and customs clearance for the EU, Switzerland, the UK, the United States and the Gulf countries.

Production and logistics around the Arcipelago Italia venues

Before launching production we lock artwork, recipient quantities, packaging and named pickup point. The final address must be reconfirmed against the calendar issued by the Arcipelago Italia curatorial team and by the operations office of the architecture firm, sponsor or design school: MAXXI in Rome has dedicated vehicular accesses managed by the Rome municipal police with reduced loading windows, Triennale Milano coordinates deliveries through the cultural office of the Triennale, the Padiglione Italia at the Venice Architecture Biennale coordinates deliveries through the La Biennale di Venezia operations office and the Giardini della Biennale cargo calendar, the architecture schools (Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza Roma, Università di Firenze, IUAV, Politecnico di Torino, Università di Bologna, Università di Napoli Federico II, Università di Palermo, Università di Cagliari, Università della Calabria) have their own loading calendars in constant update, while the design week venues (Milano Design Week, Roma Design Week, Torino Design Week) have further ZTL stretches that require small vehicles and pre-notice to the municipal referents.

For a programme routed via Milan, deliveries are consolidated at the hub and shipped to the destination venue in 24–48-hour windows via BRT, SDA, GLS or DHL Express, by appointment for ZTL venues. For programmes that touch multiple Italian venues we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes, with different vehicles for each leg and phone pre-notice to the local referent. For programmes above 1,000 pieces we offer appointment delivery with phone pre-notice and, on request, on-site set-up by our staff at MAXXI or at Triennale Milano. For fragile materials (crystal, hand-engraved silverware, fine ceramic, model objects in glass and ceramic, archival prints) we coordinate temperature-controlled transport with specialised partners and dedicated packaging.

For programmes that include satellite events in the Italian inner areas (the network of small towns participating in the Arcipelago Italia map), the co-branded sponsor editions and the architecture conferences coordinated with the Ordini degli Architetti of every Italian region, we replicate the logistics across multiple nodes and prepare a bilingual packing list for each leg. For partnerships with the Italian architecture firms, the design studios and the architecture schools we replicate the editorial programme with point customisations. For those who want a continuing presence across the Italian architecture calendar we replicate the service on the Venice Architecture Biennale, on the Triennale Milano exhibitions, on the Italian Design Week and on the seasonal editions of the Italian architecture firms and design schools.

Frequently asked questions