gio tirotto stretches domestic chair into public bench on italy’s gulf of poets

la lenta is a stainless steel and teak-veneered bench that merges domestic chair proportions with civic seating for installation along liguria’s san terenzo waterfront.

GianvitoF edited by christina vergopoulou November 14, 2026 2 min

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GIO TIROTTO DESIGNs LA LENTA BENCH FOR LIGURIA’S COAST

Developed by slow-living platform Vita lenta, Italian designer Gio Tirotto, and B Corp-certified seaside restaurant La Marinella, La Lenta is a public bench conceived to counter defensive urban furniture and restore prolonged seating to shared spaces. Scheduled for installation in spring 2027 in San Terenzo, a village in Lerici along Liguria’s Gulf of Poets, in collaboration with the Municipality of Lerici, the seating piece will sit along the waterfront facing the sea as an open-access civic amenity.

gio tirotto stretches domestic chair into public bench on italy's gulf of poets - 1 — all images ©Raoul Ventura

La Lenta ELONGATES typical domestic CHAIR PROPORTIONS

Designer Gio Tirotto’s concept merges domestic and civic typologies, structured formally as an elongated chair that stretches into a bench while retaining the proportions and ergonomic detailing of indoor seating. Eliminating hostile elements such as central dividers or steeply inclined planes, the bench is engineered for both outdoor public environments and residential interiors. Its structural frame is fabricated from marine-grade AISI 316 stainless steel, paired with a seat and backrest constructed from okoumé plywood finished with a teak veneer to resist salt spray, weathering, and coastal storms.

A dedicated plaque features hand-drawn lettering by artist Loris Lillo, designer of the Vita lenta logo. Marking the first physical object produced by Vita lenta, founded by Gianvito Fanelli in 2020 as a digital platform before expanding into publishing and music, the San Terenzo installation serves as a prototype for a wider rollout of public benches across Italy, with the team seeking an industrial partner for serial production.

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AISI 316 stainless steel and okoumé plywood La Lenta wordmark designed by Loris Lillo Gio Tirotto, designer of the bench Gianvito Fanelli, founder of Vita Lenta

project info:

name: La Lenta
designer: Gio Tirotto | @giotirotto

location: San Terenzo, Italy

photographer: Raoul Ventura | @raoul_ven

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