Think Benci
Think Benci is a project based on innovation and enhancement of the cultural and artistic ethos of Pensione Bencistà, in order to project such values into the 21st century.
Think Benci gathered like-minded creatives to organize and promote art, culture and design projects in the Hotel.
Think Benci is an initiative of Anna Maggi, niece of the owners of the hotel. Anna has created this project as a Master thesis in Communication Design at Central Saint Martins in London.
Design is a language that goes beyond linguistic and national differences; Think Benci believes that cultural exchanges are one of the foundations of our generation. For this reasons we are undertaking projects that involve both schools of art and design and international artists and designers. Design with a View will be the first great occasion to experience this.
Pensione Bencistà is a three-star hotel in the small town of Fiesole near Florence, Italy. Situated in an historic XIV century villa, the Simoni family have run the hotel since 1927. A rich cultural history has imbued the villa and hotel with strong intellectual, artistic and musical values. The quiet charms of Pensione Bencistà have inspired creative thinkers for generations. Honouring this tradition, the Simoni family have hosted artists and musicians, resulting in numerous concerts and exhibitions in their grounds. Traces of the many artists’ presence hang on the walls and sit on the mantles, symbols of their inspiration and gratitude – a facet the Simoni family continue to preserve;
In April, started the Designers in residence’s programme: Bencistà has been reinvented as a workshops space, inviting designers, graphic designers and artists to spend time in the charming location in exchange for “projects”.
Designers are invited to test their creativity, producing something for the Hotel. The goal is to make this space a hotbed of ideas and projects, whose hallmark is the realization “in vivo”, and the resulting contamination between artist and place. For example Umberto Mischi, Italian Illustrator for the New Yorker, and the publishing house Black, outlined the Bencistà menu.
