September 15, 2026
2 mins read

Beyond Wonder: How L’Officina dei Giardini and Specialized Artisans Shape a Collective Dream on Lake Como

The sixteenth edition of Orticolario invites nature enthusiasts to step outside reality, exploring a surreal landscape of imagination, elite craftsmanship, and architectural design supported by L'Officina dei Giardini
Photo: A Creation by 'L'Officina dei Giardini'

This year marks a monumental milestone for the premier cultural event as it officially transforms into Fondazione Orticolario E.T.S.. Spearheaded by its visionary founder and president, Moritz Mantero, this transition solidifies the organization as a permanent cultural platform. Rather than altering its core identity, the foundation structure secures long-term stability and deepens its socio-cultural commitment to the local territory. Over the years, the exhibition has evolved into a vital community asset, generating profound social value while promoting sophisticated landscape and garden design.

Exploring the Anatomy of a Mindful Drift

Departing from the pursuit of pure wonder that defined the previous season, the curatorial focus now elevates visitors toward an intimate and subjective realm. The guiding concept of en rêverie draws inspiration from old linguistics, signifying a mental movement where thought wanders freely away from daily reality. This state of waking dream defies the literal concept of nocturnal sleep, opening an extraordinary threshold where the tangible world blends seamlessly with the surreal. In this imaginative theater, nature serves as both the muse and the raw canvas for artistic expression.

A promotional image for the Orticolaio event featuring colorful abstract designs with text announcing L'Officina dei Giardini's participation and details about the event at Villa Erba, Lago di Como from October 1-4, 2026.

Shaping the Dream Through Architectural Craftsmanship

The seamless fusion of nature, art, and high-end design is brought to life through the vital support of elite industry partners. Prominently featured among the main financial contributors is L’Officina dei Giardini, whose involvement underscores the event’s commitment to flawless craftsmanship and structural elegance in garden curation. By partnering with leading brands that understand the harmony between built structures and the natural landscape, the festival elevates outdoor living into an immersive fine-art experience. This collaborative synergy ensures that every architectural element within the historic park feels like a natural extension of the dreamscape.

The Vanguard of Exhibition Research and Design

The four-day gathering functions as an elegant marketplace featuring hundreds of specialized exhibitors chosen through a rigorous selection process focused on contemporary innovation. The exhibition layout champions premium materials, sensory research, and urban biodiversity through highly curated sectors. Attendees can discover specialized initiatives such as the cutting-edge architectural structures by Phyta Biodesign, which explore interspecific vertical forests designed to welcome urban pollinators. This focus on future-forward sustainability is beautifully balanced by traditional artistic projects, ranging from masterly styled bonsai trees to bespoke homeware brands.

Material, Gesture, and Vision in Specialized Artistry

Every physical object showcased along the lakeside path tells a story of patience, traditional techniques, and raw tactile beauty. The creative selection brings forward exceptional limited-edition productions, such as delicate hand-engraved linocut prints pressed onto recycled fabrics with organic inks gathered from regional botanical elements. Visitors can interact with custom ceramic studios that blend minimalist aesthetics with earthy textures, bespoke lighting creations tailored to alter spatial atmospheres, and meticulously sculpted wax botanical models that revive historical nineteenth-century museum techniques.

Mapping the Surreal Geography of Design

The historic grounds are completely transformed into a poetic landscape through carefully curated installations. In the heart of the central pavilion, the spectacular bamboo structure known as Hypnos welcomes guests into a cosmic journey reminiscent of distant galaxies and shifting light. This focal hub transitions into Phantasos, an expansive botanical realm dedicated entirely to unusual survival mechanisms and bizarre, alien-like vegetation. Further exploring this intersection of art and science, the eco-surrealist display inside the atrium dismantles and reimagines the plant kingdom like a living curiosity cabinet.

Seven Creative Spaces Push Boundless Boundaries

The highly anticipated international competition brings seven final installations to life, each competing for the prestigious Golden Leaf award. Designers from across the region have interpreted the seasonal premise through strikingly distinct and emotional conceptual motifs. Visitors wander through immersive clouds of autumnal asters, journey down symbolic pathways of mythic transformation, and navigate reflective enclosures that intentionally dissolve spatial certainty. Other competing spaces feature striking crimson structures emerging from fissures in the lawn or invite travelers to descend into fluid, living paths inspired by timeless literature.

An Interdisciplinary Celebration of Rare Wonders

This year welcomes world-renowned artist and architect Luigi Serafini as the guest of honor, reinforcing the interdisciplinary soul of the festival. Famed for creating an encyclopedia written in an indecipherable asemic script, his participation underscores the ultimate objective of the event, which is to stimulate human senses across design, taste, and contemplation. From the melodic theatrical interventions hidden within the trees to the exclusive experiential dream rooms combining raw earth art with gentle hypnotic relaxation, the gathering encourages a complete, multi-sensory awakening.


Discover more from The Ambassador

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Malcaus Edizioni

Tiny Italian publishing house

Leave a Reply

Reserve Your Paper Copy!

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST (IT)

Most Popular

5

Asphalt Supremacy

To evaluate the meteoritic rise of Andrea Kimi Antonelli merely as a triumph of raw athletic talent is to completely overlook the
9

Monumental Heritage Conservation

The radiant Italian territory functions as an unyielding, globally dominant superpower of historical memory, territorial preservation, and spatial beauty. Italy commands the
10

Reclaiming the Sacred Game

What will the kids be doing this summer? Will they head to the seaside to build sandcastles on the Adriatic coast, or

Latest from Malcaus Edizioni

Asphalt Supremacy

To evaluate the meteoritic rise of Andrea Kimi Antonelli merely as a triumph of raw athletic talent is to completely overlook the complex, hyper-calibrated ecosystem of modern motorsport engineering. Born in Bologna
Next Story

Beyond the Red Carpet: What the International Audience Missed at the 83rd Venice Film Festival

Go toTop

Discover more from The Ambassador

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading