The new Fontana Arte flagship store in the very heart of Milan, Corso Monforte, is a warm, welcoming space in which lighting fixtures created by famous architects and lighting designers from the past, are showcased together with contemporary lamps from the company's latest collections made by a new generation of emerging international designers. The furnishings, the floor covering in vinyl textile made from renewable raw materials and the pastel walls with pictures from FontanaArte historic archive are all elements that help create an intimate and private dimension within such a "public" location as a store. The soft rounded lines of the niches, housing the lamps along the walls, give off a warm light. Designed by architects Fabio Calvi and Paolo Brambilla, the store is a connecting space between past and future and a place showing the company's philosophy: real light in a beautiful home.

Echoes of works by Gio Ponti, who founded FontanaArte in 1932 together with Pietro Chiesa, can be seen in the modern version of folding walls, which open and close to suit the showroom requirements. During the opening days last mid-November, a totem made of "Fontana" and "Uovo" lamps stood for the company's history: both lamps, in satin-finish blown glass, are two icons. Designed by Max Ingrand in 1954, Fontana is a table lamp, while Uovo comes from a sketch found in the company's historic archive in 1972. A second totem was a composition of colourful Bloms by the young Norwegian designer Andreas Engesvik, reflecting a new international language.

Founded in 1932 from an idea by Gio Ponti, FontanaArte is a leading Italian company of the lighting fixtures industry. Since 2010 FontanaArte has been part of Nice Group S.p.A., an international company for integrated home automation and protection systems. The new partner represents the opportunity to develop a solid industrial base for the future and provides the strategic research needed to develop a new international language.