April 20, 2026
Rare Heart
Over 32 million years ago, at a depth of approximately 18 km, the collision between the African and European plates triggered flexures and overheating that generated mineral-rich metamorphic fluids. These fluids circulate between the clays and fractures of the rock, slowly cooling, and depositing these minerals within the folds of the mountain.
Thus, in the heart of Monte Rosa, a mother mountain and a unique geological phenomenon, unimaginable forces contribute to the creation of countless wonders: the veins of the rock contained within the clay, the outcrops of satellite minerals, even the glitter of gold, generating true rare earths.
This is the essence of "Rare Heart," the extraordinary new chapter in the Monte Rosa saga that focuses on wall covering solutions for the contemporary home. Danilo Ramazzotti Italianhousefloor and NovaBell Ceramiche are presenting them as part of Variations, Mosca Partners' exhibition for FuoriSalone 2026.
Danilo Ramazzotti for NovaBell is a journey of stylistic research shared by the two companies, in which artisanal sensibility and material experimentation meet industrial and technological innovation.
This dialogue between creative vision and production expertise brings out profound energies, inspired by the heart of the mountain. A journey is unfolding around wall coverings as a holistic furnishing accessory that focuses on cross-fertilization: of materials, suggestions, sensations, production processes, design cultures, and concepts of the contemporary home, which is the essence of design.
Thus were born the collections designed by Glauco Ramazzotti: Guja porcelain stoneware by NovaBell Ceramiche and the new CottoZero trilogy: Miniera, Terre d’Oro, and Polvere di Stelle, by Danilo Ramazzotti Italianhousefloor.
Guja means "gorge" in the local dialect. The gorge was created millions of years ago, when the deep Anzasca and Antrona valleys formed on the slopes of Monte Rosa, in whose heart a "treasure" gradually formed. In the heart of Monte Rosa lies gold.
Here, caves, tunnels, and galleries dug into the most marked veins of the mountain traverse the layers and veins created by the orogenic events of the great Mother Mountain.
The collections are born from a profound aesthetic and emotional reinterpretation of this world, drawing on the history of the Earth and the lands and interpreting the material. It doesn't dwell on the presence of gold-bearing minerals, but delves deeply into the essence of the rock contained within the clay, the outcrops of satellite minerals, and the intervention of man.
The texture, the tones, the folds of the material, and the traces scratched by man in search of the "precious" blend into a visionary alphabet, composing the pages of an ancient alchemical code. Pure sensations, distilled from the heart of the mountain.
Once again, Monte Rosa is a treasure trove of materials and energies through which it is possible to start from the roots of humanity and tell its future.
Once again, a proposal that does not copy what exists in nature, but interprets, blends, and narrates the emotions aroused by the suggestions of the material.
The new CottoZero trilogy represents this journey into the heart of the mountain and its preciousness, through its stratifications, expressing a material strength and profound and powerful suggestions.
CottoZero Miniera is a deep, textured coating that conveys the power of clay and the generative force of nature. The surface, expressed through a sculptural texture, emerges from the depths of the mountain, imbuing us with a maternal quality, conveying a profound sense of embrace and protection.
The light and soft chiaroscuro emphasize the chromatic purity of the clays of the Monte Rosa UNESCO Geopark.
CottoZero Terre d'Oro is an original material, the result of extensive research and an innovative fusion of surface minerals. Inspired by the nuances of precious minerals, it adorns terracotta surfaces with unprecedented hues and luminescence, giving the clay a powerful new dimension.
CottoZero Polvere di Stelle is the result of ever-deeper research that reveals new, precious elements: gems. With their transparency and shimmer, they emerge from the clay in a play of refractions and chromatic nuances. An innovative material that combines clay and mineral elements, punctuating the terracotta surface with vivid, fleeting flashes like the stars in the sky.
The Installation
The history and evocative power of the Guia gold mine are at the heart of the project that Danilo Ramazzotti for NovaBell presents at Variations.
The project aims to revive the holistic essence of a material generated by the forces of nature through the creation of containers capable of conveying the sensorial emotion of the mine and the precious heart of the mountain.
A journey through three experiential dolmens unfolds, narrating and revealing the primary components of matter: air, water, and fire, while earth is the unifying element, the path to follow. The four primordial elements become "pure" in the heart of the mountain and can therefore be experienced "in purity."
The dolmen is man's first stone architecture and represents the continuation and evolution of the project that Danilo Ramazzotti for NovaBell realized with Shards of Infinity in 2025, which began with the primordial and generative form of the megalith. The structure now becomes a host; it is not just a reference to the mine, but evokes a home, a shelter.
To enter the Rare Heart dolmens, one must bend down. And bending down to enter accentuates the discovery of a microclimate of sound, light, and sight. Bending also means bowing, a gesture of respect to nature itself, and in particular to the earth that unites all the elements.
The interior of each dolmen therefore represents the primordial and inspirational world, the heart of the Mountain and of "pure" perception.
The exterior of the Dolmens is the space where reworked material becomes the undisputed protagonist. A material that is the result of the primordial forces and elements held within and that, once again, emerges powerful and new from the heart of the earth, creating a profound connection with our being.
This year, the partnership benefits from the technical collaboration of Laticrete, a leading company in the world in the production of high-quality building materials.