​Concept

​​

Drawing on Pliny the Elder’s evocations of Vesuvius, the piece translates eruption into a micro-landscape: a grounded mass and a rising plume, frozen at the instant before dispersal. The base recalls the volcano’s basaltic permanence—time compressed into stone—while the cloud form suggests matter becoming light, ash becoming atmosphere.

Messina’s aim is to turn geology into a ritual of illumination. Plinio holds the tension between weight and levity, violence and calm.  In this way, the work sits at the threshold between artefact and event, inviting the viewer to linger on the moment when nature’s force softens into a warm, inhabitable light.

 

The Making 

​

Each Plinio is built in small batches with a studio process that balances sculptural handwork and precise assembly. The base is shaped from natural basalt stone: rough-cut, then hand-carved and honed to a satin, crater-like topology that echoes the flanks of Vesuvius. The “plume” is created through layered casting—a controlled build-up of volcanic ash and pumice suspended in clear resin. This stratified pour captures gradients of density and tiny inclusions, then is hand-finished and micro-sanded to a soft, cloud-like translucency that diffuses the light.

Length: 40 cm × Depth: 40 cm × Height: 60 cm

​

Origin

​

Plinio emerges from the moment Francesco Maria Messina returned to Tuscany (2020) to found his studio and refocus his practice on the dialogue between nature, history, and material innovation. The work draws a clear biographical thread: years spent training in architecture (École Spéciale d’Architecture under Odile Decq) gave him a structural way of thinking, while his time in Mauritius sparked a lasting fascination with geology and mineral matter.

Back in Tuscany, Messina channelled those experiences into a body of research exploring minerals, stratification, and Italian cultural memory. Developed and refined in small batches in his studio, the lamp stands as a work where biography and material intelligence converge—Italy’s craft tradition meeting a designer’s research.

​

“Emotion, memory, and connection to nature. Every object I design is a bridge between the past and the future, inviting reflection on what we value as humans. It’s about using design as cultural storytelling—with beauty, honesty, and intention.”
— Francesco Maria Messina

​

Quantities are extremely limited. Once sold, these pieces will not return.​​​​​

​