Natuzzi is on a mission to help save Puglia’s olive trees

Italian furniture brand Natuzzi has deep roots in the southern region of Puglia: since the 1930s, the company has been based in the region, growing from a small upholstery workshop to a furniture giant. Alongside collections from world-renown designers, the company has been particularly attentive to the culture surrounding it, partly thanks to the efforts of company chief creative officer and third-generation member of the founding family, Pasquale Junior Natuzzi.  ‘Puglia is our home, our muse: every new Natuzzi project starts here and reaches the whole world thanks to our stores, where customers can enjoy a brand experience that transmits hospitality, warmth and the beauty of the Mediterranean,’ explains Pasquale Junior.  Xylella-hit olive trees Today, Puglia and the entire Mediterranean suffer from the advancement of Xylella, a bacterial plant pathogen that is slowly destroying local olive trees, some of which have been around for centuries. Since 2013, the bacterium has destroyed more than 21 million olive trees in Puglia, changing the local landscape: once rich and green, and now slowly drying out with a strong risk of desertification. ‘Olive trees are not just trees: they represent a symbol where Apulian and Mediterranean cultures merge,’ observes Pasquale Junior. ‘In this area, there is the highest density of olive trees in the world, and many of them date back to Roman times.’ Aerial view of olive trees in Puglia Because of his family and his company’s links to Puglia, he felt compelled to help his land, teaming up with local NGO Save the Olives, whose mission is to research the disease, safeguard the monumental trees and to help reforest the area.  Natuzzi’s latest collection, ‘The Circle of Harmony – Second Life’, pays particular attention to the relationship between nature, local territory and society. ‘The goal is to give life to a more conscious design and production,’ explains Pasquale Junior. ‘A collection of targeted pieces, designed to last a lifetime, with the clean idea of reducing pollution, creating materials that live a precious second life: recycled, reused, rethought.’ Part of the collection is the ‘Terra’ pouffe by long-term Natuzzi collaborator Marcantonio. Described as ‘a zero-impact statement piece designed by the earth and for the earth’, the pouffe is made of recycled polystyrene and upholstered with a sustainable textile by Byborre (see more on Natuzzi and Byborre’s textile collaboration here). Apulian olive tree by Giampaolo Sgura Concurrently, Pasquale Junior invited photographer Giampaolo Sgura to interpret the richness of ancient Apulian olive trees through a series of images that capture their energy. A special edition of the pouffe, and the photographic prints are sold from Save The Olives’ e-commerce, with proceeds donated to the organisation.  ‘My hope is to finally turn the spotlight on such a serious and delicate issue,’ says Pasquale Junior. ‘Save the Olives needs not only the Apulians, but all those who feel the moral imperative to do something to save a territory in grave danger. I hope to be able to stir the spirits of the many people who want to defend Puglia and the Mediterranean. It is a difficult undertaking, but it does not scare us.’ Francesco Winspeare, president of Save the Olives, says: ‘Olive trees are our history, they represent an irreplaceable piece of our territory, and the time has come to unite us all, without any doubts or restraints, in this difficult struggle.’ §  
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