Barolo, 9 July 2024 - Ever dreamed of being the main character in a fairy tale? Set in an enchanted scenario once upon a time, surrounded by fantastic creatures who become friends in times of need and come to the aid of heroes and heroines in search of their happy ending.

Gli Amici by Meritalia is a design made up of eleven elements, each depicting a fantastic animal borrowed from the world of illustrated fairy tales. These 'friends' band together in different combinations to form imaginative and comfortable seats, transforming any space they inhabit: from a domestic interior to a fantastic interior.

The creator of Gli Amici is the radical Gaetano Pesce, who declared: “I have always loved animals very much, even the less noble ones. I have always admired them, especially the non-violent and kinder ones. Their different characters and languages have often pushed me to think and try to understand better.”

Meritalia has breathed life into a comfortable seat with the appearance of eleven fantastic creatures: a long seat turned goldfish; pouffes turned canaries, elephants, sheeps and bonobos. Ordinary backrests become mullet fish, pigs, dogs, bears or exotic toucans; and among them also a curious man. Eleven elements, different in shape and decoration; friends who inhabit the room and come together, to give it life and character, to live new stories.

Each element is supported by a solid wood and steel structure, on which different shapes in expanded polyurethane are modelled into the radical zoomorphic sculptures created by Pesce. The digital printing on resistant and high quality cotton reproduces the drawings by Gaetano Pesce himself, with a style that recalls the illustrations of children classics, and reproduces the features of the animals with light strokes and vivid colours.

At once sculptural and functional, Gli Amici are available in two different groups: one of three elements, and one of five. They can adapt to every corner of an interior for a bit of light-heartedness, or they can also be protagonists of their story, taking the centre of the room and becoming the conversation piece of any space. Gli Amici is a series that Meritalia has dedicated to those who recognise the value of celebrating irony, light-heartedness and freedom in everyday life; objects that can counteract the coldness of formal spaces and remind us of the importance of safeguarding our playfulness, at any age.