La Bella Tavola Porcelain Table Set

La Bella Tavola and My Beautiful China, design Ettore Sottsass 2026 (1993)

Table set in decorated white decorated porcelain.

Designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1993, La Bella Tavola was the first collection of tableware produced by Alessi. The set was conceived as a ‘total table’ project, envisioned as a coherent universe of objects for the table capable of interacting harmoniously with one another - an interpretation of tableware that was strikingly innovative at that time.

In this new edition, the set offers an assortment comprising dinner plate, soup plate, dessert plate, oval serving dish, salad bowl, filter coffee cup, tea and coffee cups, and their respective saucers; all available in two versions which means the white one, La Bella Tavola, and the one featuring the distinctibe geometrical blue decoration conceived by Sottsass, My Beautiful China.

In 1993, the distinctive detail of the blu decoration was the subtle halo that extended beyond the lines resulted from the double firing of cobalt which was required to achieve the intense blue chosen by Sottsass. What might have appeared to be an imperfection instead became the hallmark of the design. Captivated by this phenomenon, Sottsass regarded it as an essential part of the project, and it is faithfully recreated in this reissue, though realised with contemporary techniques (that no longer involve cobalt), while preserving the original spirit.

In this new edition, the design preserves the high quality of the original service – ensured by German production in a region renowned for excellence in this field.

The possibility of combining the white and decorated versions allows for a personal and refined mise en place, turning every meal into a special moment.