Unopiù, the Italian house that invented dedicated outdoor design
Before 1978, outdoor furniture in Italy was mostly anonymous catalogue goods. Unopiù set out to give exterior spaces the same considered design that interiors already received, and built the first Italian house dedicated entirely to it.
Unopiù was founded in 1978 in Soriano nel Cimino, a hill town in the Tuscia area of Lazio roughly fifteen kilometers from Viterbo. At the time, outdoor furniture in Italy was largely treated as an afterthought — anonymous catalogue goods rather than designed objects. Unopiù set out to change that, giving exterior spaces the same design attention interiors already received, and in doing so became Italy's first house built entirely around outdoor furniture rather than adding an outdoor line to an indoor catalogue.
The first Unopiù catalogue appeared in 1982 and centered on teak and timber pieces that stayed in the range for decades. The Amanda hammock, introduced in 1988, became an early symbol of the more relaxed, considered approach to outdoor living the company was pursuing — a piece built for lounging rather than dining or entertaining. That founding instinct, furniture built specifically for time spent outside rather than adapted from indoor design, still organizes how the current catalogue is built.
Before Unopiù, outdoor furniture in Italy was largely anonymous catalogue goods. The company set out to give exterior spaces the same design attention interiors already received.
A catalogue that grew past seating
Several current lines run on WaProLace, a woven synthetic fiber used across Agòrà, Capri, Experience and Olimpia — modular sofas, dining chairs and lounge sets built on lightweight aluminum frames. Unopiù also builds structures beyond furniture: Meridienne and Solaire are modular aluminum and iron pergolas, Shibuya is a mobile pergola line, Tibisco is a gazebo range in galvanized iron, and Orangerie extends into garden greenhouses — an unusually wide scope for a house that started with a single teak and timber catalogue.
Where the design comes from
Today the house works with internationally recognized designers to shape lounge, dining, shade and structural pieces across the range. Cora and Pevero keep the teak-and-rope instinct closest to the brand's original catalogue, while lines such as Davos, whose aluminum joints draw on Walser craftsmanship, and Tline, in mud or dove-gray aluminum, extend the range into more contemporary territory suited to both residential and public spaces.
For US buyers, Unopiù collections reach the market through authorized dealers and contract channels, with lead times that vary by line and finish. The full catalogue is in our Unopiù profile.