Franco Cologni

Excellence, Passion, Beauty, Italy: these are the four sections making up the volume “Eau de Colognì”, a series of reflections written by Franco Cologni, the founder and President of the eponymous foundation.

Those who are approaching this small, enjoyable pocket book will plunge into the frantic life, rich in experiences and enthusiasm, but also full of curiosity and invention, of one of the most creative and influential personalities in the world of luxury, applied arts and excellence craftsmanship. All along his life, Franco Cologni, a manager and a man of culture, has probed into these subjects, which have become key words in his position as a patron of applied arts and Italian artistic craftsmanship. These values are still present in his life and in his writings, and are crucial to give visibility to our Metiers d'Art, a feather in the cap of a century-old tradition and at the root of Made in Italy, loved and coveted worldwide.


Cesare De Michelis introduces this book with affection and appreciation: “This collection of Franco Cologni's thoughts is vibrating with the author's 'urge toward the new', vividly spanning the whole path of a lifetime whose results have been neatly and synthetically defined by the author himself: if pursuing change 'results in boredom about what we've done, built, hoarded, until we feel impatient and unhappy’, because changes are disorienting and ‘we fear them just as we are afraid of whatever is new and unexpected, and in this gap between longing and avoidance the germ of unhappiness thrives', then we need to innovate while respecting the strong, lasting values of tradition”.