For a country so strongly defined by its history, Italy does an excellent job of merging old and new, past and future.

Take Rome’s Trevi Fountain, one of the symbols of the capital itself. In 2014, the baroque masterpiece received a multi-million-euro restoration funded by the fashion house Fendi. And while this public-private enterprise is hardly anything new, it demonstrates the close relationship in Italy between its top creative talent and rich heritage.

Meanwhile, over in Venice, a city that’s practically a living museum, 20th-century Italian architect Carlo Scarpa embraced the limitations of its historical fabric by melding it with modernism.

In Turin, there are industrial buildings reborn as arts and events spaces, Milan has a Vertical forest’ sprouting from an apartment block, and Genoa’s reimagined port district has transformed the city.

From hotels and galleries to concept stores and vineyards, this issue celebrates the cutting-edge creatives behind some of Italy’s design classics.

Architecture, fashion, furniture, design and art represent modern Italy, while carefully ensuring its past is as relevant as ever.