The Chiavari chair is one of the most famous chairs in the world. However, not everyone knows that it is, in fact, one of the oldest made-in-Italy design products in the world. In fact, its origins date back to 1807, thanks to a carpenter in Chiavari, Liguria. Chiavari’s chair was a huge success until the arrival of Thonet in the mid-19th century. It is precisely to the Chiavari chair that is dedicated one of the main exhibitions of Tigullio Design District, “Design ante litteram: The Light Chair of Chiavari from the 19th Century to Today”.
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Chiavari and Tigullio: Tigullio Design District
Tigullio Design District is the first international design event in Liguria, in the Gulf of Tigullio (Portofino area), and returns April 7-13, 2025. It’s a widespread event that unites all the cities in the area – Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, Zoagli, Chiavari, Lavagna, Sestri Levante – under a common goal: the promotion of design and lifestyle with the sea as the protagonist.
The IV edition of Tigullio Design District (TDD), the event organized and promoted by the Liguria Design Cultural Association (Liguria Design) involve seven cities, including numerous hamlets. Important international, national, and local entities linked to the world of design and creativity take part to this edition.
Tigullio Design District: design by the sea
The 2025 edition of the TDD launches the theme “Design is re-Generation” and is divided into a rich calendar of events spread across the entire area of the Gulf of Tigullio. Historic squares and buildings, the famous alleys, ports and marinas, beaches and bays on the sea, act as a stage for the activities of the TDD25. Even schools and cultural centers, reception facilities, and commercial activities, such as studios and offices of local designers and architects, are opening their doors on an extraordinary basis for the great open space event.
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Discovering the Chiavari chair in wonderful places
The event, which enjoys the patronage of the Liguria Region, the Metropolitan City of Genoa, the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa, Genoa More Than This, and all seven municipalities involved from Portofino to Sestri Levante, boasts a partnership with the Milan Design Week, in Milan. For an entire week, TDD25 offers a long list of events, exhibitions, meetings/debates, workshops, and laboratories also aimed at students of accredited schools.
Eighteen global design organizations are already partners, and sixteen country ambassadors are promoting the Tigullio Design District worldwide, each in their own countries of belonging. Over one hundred international and local partners. More than sixty media partners accredited to follow the rich program of the event both on-site and from the world.
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A rich program of talks and events
The fourth edition, two years and ten months after the first edition, aims to tell the story of an iconic product of Made in Italy in the world, the Chiavari chair. Today, the chair is still in production after over two centuries of history, and it’s the foundation for the largest chair exhibition in the world. Beyond the exhibition “Design ante-litteram”, the Tigullio Design District offers a fashion show by the Fashion Institute of Genoa, the First Forum of Liguria Design. There’s also an exhibition with the name “Trame Liguri: Dialogue between Fashion, Art, and Design,” the design workshop “Between Land and Sea” developed with five schools of Tigullio, two major events aimed at sailing: “Liguria Blu: Sustainable Sailing for Marine Protected Areas” and “Design 4 Future: Accessible Sailing and Ports, Future Perspectives and Visions,” the event of the “Best Shop” 2025 and much more to discover.
The fourth edition of Tigullio Design District runs April 7-13, 2025
Tigullio Design District
For professionals and general public
Size: exhibitions, talks and meetings in seven cities
Visit TigullioDesignDistrict.com website for more info and the complete program