Love difference is the name of an artistic project and of this illy collection, but it is also the spirit and value shared by illycaffè and the master of Arte Povera, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and led to their collaboration.
The cup, presented on the occasion of the contemporary art fair, The Armory Show in New York in 2004, shows the silver basin of the Mediterranean where different cultures meet and the problems of global society are reflected. A spiral of love for differences in many different languages grace the saucer.

The Love Difference movement was established in 2002 in Biella, as part of the Pistoletto Foundation . It is a network of projects, institutions and artists united by their conviction that cultural differences enrich humanity and that art and creativity can enhance the life of society and of people.

Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 1933in Biella) was asked to decorate another illy cup after the 2002 illy collection set.

So "Love difference" was established in the Fondazione Pistoletto. The aim is to bring together, around the regions facing onto the Mediterranean Sea, people and institutions interested in creating new prospects that reach beyond the conflict between different cultures.

5500 special editions, which came in a special designed gift box, were released on March 2004 and sold out on the USA illy site in a couple of days.