The Plana folding table is a 1970s Italian folding table produced by Anonima Castelli and designed by Giancarlo Piretti. It exemplifies the era’s space-saving, industrial-materials approach (thin metal structure, laminate/Perspex top) and the Italian “space-age” / modernist aesthetic; His most famous design is the Plia chair (1969) — a folding, injection-molded chair that earned awards and museum attention — and he translated the same functional, foldable engineering and minimalist language into tables such as the Plana/Platone/Plano family. That focus on clever folding mechanisms is a Piretti hallmark 

Anonima Castelli (often branded simply “Castelli”) is an Italian manufacturer known in the 1960s–70s for experimental use of plastics, laminates and metal, and for producing compact/folding furniture that fit changing post-war lifestyles. They collaborated with several Italian designers to produce industrial, space-saving designs that read as modern and futuristic in the 1970s. 

Why it matters: Piretti’s work (Plia chair, Plana/Platone tables) represents a thread in Italian design that blended engineering, new plastics/production tech, and everyday practicality — an important counterpoint to more decorative mid-century pieces. The folding/stacking functionality responds to smaller urban living spaces and changing domestic habits of the 1960s–70s