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Where Marble Dreams and Parisian Design Collide – When Félix Millory Meets Monitillo 1980

Where Marble Dreams and Parisian Design Collide – When Félix Millory Meets Monitillo 1980 April 30, 2025Interior Design, Milan0 Comments

STONE, SOUL, SCULPTURE: A SENSORY DIALOGUE BETWEEN MONITILLO 1980 & FÉLIX MILLORY

By Shari Inessa

There are rare occasions in design when two forces — one rooted in heritage, the other driven by poetic innovation — meet in perfect cadence. At this year’s Salone del Mobile.Milano, that harmony took the form of Tecton, an arresting new collection from Monitillo 1980, envisioned in collaboration with French architect and designer Félix Millory.

I stepped into their world in Hall 13, Stand D41, and it was like entering a silent opera: marble hummed under soft light, travertine spoke in low, textured tones, and the air shimmered with craftsmanship so refined, it felt sacred.

The Artisans of Altamura: Monitillo 1980’s Quiet Revolution

Founded in the Murgia hills of Puglia, Monitillo 1980 has long been celebrated as one of Italy’s hidden gems — a house where marble, granite, and natural stone are shaped not just by machines, but by memory and hand. Across their 12,000 square meter workshop, generations of expertise meet state-of-the-art technology, and material becomes story.

Their ethos is clear: to reveal the soul of the stone. Every slab is hand-selected, every piece intimately followed from concept to creation. Their Home Collection evokes the ochres and shadows of the Apulian coast, while Bathline brings sensual form to function, transforming sinks, bathtubs, and mirrors into tactile moments of daily indulgence.

And yet, Tecton is something new. Something deeper.

Félix Millory: A Sculptor of Space

Only 39, Félix Millory has already earned his place as one of the most promising voices of his generation. With an architectural approach that feels more like choreography than construction, Millory doesn’t design — he reveals. His work is imbued with quiet emotion, where simplicity becomes sacred and materials are never just chosen — they’re listened to.

Millory’s style dances between architectural restraint and poetic warmth. From Parisian townhouses to international interiors, his signature is always the same: space that breathes, details that whisper, and a reverence for materiality — particularly wood, metal, and stone. It was only natural that his path would lead to Monitillo.

Tecton: Marble as Memory

Tecton, from the ancient Greek “to shape, to create,” is more than a collection — it is a philosophy. Dining tables, consoles, seating, and lighting emerge from solid blocks of marble, but feel impossibly light. Geometric silhouettes contrast with the ruggedness of hand-carved details, and every line, every incision, every curve carries the trace of the artisan.

From the Scultura wall panels, where shadows and depth create an almost musical rhythm, to the Segni coverings, raw with their irregular incisions — the collection challenges the viewer: is this surface or sculpture?

Here, marble is no longer a silent monolith. It is alive, marked by touch, animated by light, and steeped in time.

The Stand: A Sanctuary in Stone

Designed by Millory himself, the Salone booth was not a mere display — it was an emotional architecture. Fabric swayed gently like seafoam beside carved stone pillars. Light cascaded softly, illuminating the natural veins of travertine and marble like strokes of ink on parchment. The boundary between exterior and interior dissolved; what remained was essence.

It was as if a Mediterranean monastery had collided with a Parisian atelier — a space of contemplation, craftsmanship, and sculptural purity.

A Future Carved in Stone

Through Tecton, Monitillo 1980 doesn’t just revisit its heritage — it rewrites it. In Millory, they have found a kindred soul: a creator who doesn’t decorate but defines. Together, they propose a new vision of luxury — one that is tactile, timeless, and deeply human.

This is not design for trend. This is design for legacy.

And as I walked away from the marble-scented stillness of their booth, I realised I hadn’t just seen a collection. I had feltit. In the hush of stone, in the balance of shadow and form, in the quiet power of restraint.

Tecton is not an exhibit. It’s a love letter. To slowness. To substance. And to the enduring, elegant beauty of things built to last.

PHOTOCREDITS: Andrea Peretti

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