Officine Breda Furniture

Mid century collectible armchairs During the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Italy set on a difficult yet fast-paced recover from the horror and destruction of WW2. The confli...

Commonly known as the Settebello, after the name coined by the workers who built it, the seven-car railcar Electric Rapid Train 300 (ETR 300) was in operation with the State Railways from 1952 to 1992. A truly unique vehicle, produced in only 3 examples by the Ernesto Breda company of Sesto San Giovanni (MI) with the idea of equipping the state railway fleet with a product that combined new technology and futuristic design. With a power output of 2600 kW, more than double that of its predecessor ETR 200, The ETR 300 could easily reach 200 km/h, covering the entire Milan-Rome route in only 5 hours and 45 minutes, at an average of more than 110 km/h when the Rome-Florence direttissima did not yet exist. The design, featuring aeronaval silhouettes on the exterior, was signed by Giò Ponti, Giulio Minoletti and other prominent architects and designers of the time, and provided for innovative glass walls, panoramic windows, lounges with movable armchairs, restaurant and large bar, and registered baggage service for the interior. Forse l'elemento più distintivo erano le due carrozze bombate di testa che vennero progettate con cabine di guida sopraelevate per lasciare spazio in basso a confortevoli salotti belvedere per gli 11 posti di prima classe.

Giulio Minoletti (1910-1981), a Milanese architect, was notable for his remarkable versatility, his flair for experimental research into forms, materials, polychromes and hybrids bet...