by Dr Grace Lees-Maffei

Gathering to eat with family and friends is a cornerstone of Italian life, and so it's no surprise that the architecture of the table has inspired many Italian designers to make extraordinary objects.

Designer Ettore Sottsass lovingly crafted his classic 1987 Nuovo Milano cutlery to be as "smooth as sea-worn stones," while industrialist Alberto Alessi saw fit to commission world-famous architects to make miniature skylines of jugs, pots, and percolators.

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Source: http://edition.cnn.com/