Italian furniture and design manufacturers push for restarting production

A consortium of prominent Italian home furnishing designers and manufacturers are urging Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to allow their industries to resume production ahead of the country’s gradual re-opening, which is now slated to begin May 3 at the earliest but could likely be pushed back. Italy’s famed and economically vital home design industry—largely centered around Milan but spread across the country—has been at a virtual standstill since at least March 22, when production at the country’s non-essential factories was halted due to the global coronavirus crisis. Italy, an early epicenter of the pandemic, went into nationwide lockdown mode earlier in the month, on March 9.