Mediterranean Design - Tradition Translation Betrayal

At the Università Mediterranea, the POT-NEED workshop, “Mediterranean Design - Tradition, Translation, Betrayal.”

From 17 to 20 November 2025, the Design Course of the Department of Architecture and Design, dAeD, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, hosts the workshop “ Mediterranean Design - Tradition, Translation, Betrayal ”, promoted as part of the national project POT–NEED - New Empathic Educational Design, coordinated by Maria Dolores Morelli, national project manager of the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” and Francesco Armato, site contact for the Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria. 

The workshop, curated by the POT-NEED Mediterranea working group, offers a journey that explores the role of design as a cultural and strategic practice capable of giving new meaning to tradition. 

Tradition, Translation, Betrayal draws inspiration from Walter Benjamin's thought and translates into a method that unites identity and vision: tradition as a root, translation as a critical interpretation, and betrayal as a design act, necessary to generate new paradigms and new imaginations. During the workshop, students will develop a project dedicated to the valorization of the Annona apple, a typical fruit of the province of Reggio Calabria, a symbol of an authentic and yet-to-be-discovered territory.

The workshop is a process of learning and active discussion, with contributions from scholars from various disciplines to inspire creativity among participants. During the four days of hands-on practice, students will engage in a systemic project tied to the Calabrian region, building a shared vision of Mediterranean design. Specifically, they will simulate the creation of a startup dedicated to Annona, a sweet and delicate fruit, virtually unknown outside the local area and grown almost exclusively in the province of Reggio Calabria. 

Organized into six work areas—Product Design, Brand Design, Communication Design, Exhibition Design, UX/UI Design, and Service Design—students will work as departments within the same creative enterprise, building a coherent narrative and shared corporate vision to give an identity and future to a product yet to be discovered. 

The workshop is promoted by the dAeD Department of the Università Mediterranea and the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, as part of the POT–NEED network, which involves eighteen Italian universities: Polytechnic University of Bari, University of Bologna, University of Camerino, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, University of Chieti-Pescara, University of Ferrara, University of Florence, University of Genoa, Polytechnic University of Milan, University of Naples “Federico II”, University of Palermo, University of Parma, University of Perugia, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, University of Sassari, Polytechnic University of Turin and University of Tuscia.