AL/23
£ 714
Fantini: the tap house that co-signs with Boffi and Salvatori
You can read a maker by the company it keeps: Fantini co-signs Aboutwater with Boffi and Fontane Bianche with Salvatori — alliances at the top of Italian design, crowned by a Compasso d'Oro 2020 for the AK/25. The family firm from Pella, on Lake Orta, has drawn water since 1947 with Fukasawa, Wanders, Mari, Van Duysen and Anastassiades; the Calibro mixer was chosen by MoMA. Underneath: in-house R&D and production, AISI 316L steel, PVD finishes, and brass at 0.25% lead — the US standard, stricter than Europe's 2.2%.
La Mercanti specifies Fantini for executive washrooms and hospitality — the room every guest judges alone.
FAQ
What do the Boffi and Salvatori alliances say about Fantini?
That its peers vouch for it: Aboutwater (with Boffi) produced the AK/25 that won the Compasso d'Oro 2020; Fontane Bianche pairs Fantini brassware with Salvatori stone. Top houses choose their partners carefully.
Is the engineering as serious as the design?
More so: R&D and production stay entirely in-house at Pella, in AISI 316L and PVD finishes, with lead capped at 0.25% — the strictest mainstream standard in the world.
How to choose taps that flatter the whole scheme
The smallest fitting sets the register: five decisions for getting it right.
Match the alliance
Stone-led scheme? Think Fontane Bianche logic. Furniture-led? Aboutwater's.
Pick one author per room
Fukasawa's calm or Wanders' gesture — one voice per bathroom.
Check the material clause
316L and PVD belong in the spec, not just the mood board.
Sequence concealed valves
In-wall bodies go in before tiling — plan with the contractor.
Handle before you order
Weight and action are judged in the hand, not the photo.