Glass Chain Chandelier by Angelo Mangiarotti for Vistosi, 1960s

Highly esteemed for his researched and controlled approach to materials, Italian architect, sculptor, and designer Angelo Mangiarotti was born in Milan in 1921. Having graduated from the Politecnico di Milano with an architecture degree in 1948, he moved to the United States in 1953. There, he held a visiting professorship at Chicago’s Illinois Institute of Technology and befriended famous architects Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), Walter Gropius (1883-1969), Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), and Konrad Wachsmann (1901-1980)—all of whom influenced his work immensely.

Mangiarotti returned to Milan in 1955 and opened an architectural firm with Italian architect Bruno Morasutti (1920-2008). The pair designed industrial, residential, and cultural institutions, such as the Via Cantore Skyscraper (1955) in Genova and the Mater Misericordiae Church (1957) in Milan. The partnership dissolved in 1960.

From 1963 to 1990, Mangiarotti held lecturing positions at a number of distinguished design and architecture schools in Italy and abroad. In 1989, he founded Mangiarotti & Associates, based in Tokyo. He later served as the Creative Director at Colle Cristalleria from 1989 to 1992.

Beyond his many architectural feats, Mangiarotti’s portfolio includes a wide array of creative projects—ranging from sculptures, like Cono-cielo (1987), to products, like his Fratelli Brambilla Ashtrays (1968)—that demonstrate his masterfully modern handling of traditional materials like glass and marble. His designs were produced by the most progressive brands of his day, including Artemide, Bernini, Cappellini, Knoll, and, most famously Skipper, which produced the Incas Table (1978), Estral Shelving System (1981), Chicago Chair (1983), and Central Table (1985), among others. He’s also famous for his collection of Murano glass-link Giogali Lighting (ca. 1967) produced by Vistosi.

Over his the course of his career, Mangiarotti won numerous awards in both design and architecture, such as the Domus Formica Award (1956), the Prix Européen de la Construction Métallique (1979), a Career Compasso d’Oro (1994), and the Marble Architectural Award (1994, 2007). His work has been featured in many exhibitions worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Triennale Design Museum in Milan, and Gallery MA in Tokyo.

In 2012, Mangiarotti passed away in Milan at the age of 91. His daughter Anna Mangiarotti (b. 1950) is a professor in architecture technology at the Politecnico and works closely with Vistosi to manufacture her father’s designs as well as her own. Since 2010, Agape Casa has owned the license to produce a number of Mangiarotti’s most beloved designs.

* Images courtesy of Studio Mangiarotti, Agape Casa, Artemide, and Vistosi

Particularly active during the late 1960s and early 1970s under the direction of Luciano Vistosi, Italian glass manufacturer Vistosi is known for its collaborations with cutting-edge Italian designers like Gae Aulenti, Vico Magistretti, and Angelo Mangiarotti.

The origins of the Vistosi company can be traced to the 16^th century, Murano-based glassmaking family of Vincenzo Gazzabin. Though the Gazzabin family was productive for centuries, the decline of the Venetian Republic in the 19^th century interrupted the glass-blowing industry in the region. In 1945, Guglielmo Vistosi, an heir of Gazzabin, re-established the family glassworks under the Vistosi name. Guglielmo passed away in 1952, and was succeeded by his brother, Oreste, and two sons, Gino and Luciano.

Born in Venice, Luciano Vistosi (1931-2010) grew up in Murano with the aspiration to create products using the latest techniques and aesthetics. He began designing his own glass collections—some of which are still in production today—under the pseudonym Michael Red. In 1968, he had his first exhibition at the Alfieri Gallery in Venice. At the end of the 1960s, he concentrated on blown-glass sculptures. Iconic works by Luciano include the lighting fixtures Neverrino (1960s), Bissa (1968), Bissona (1968), and Onfale (1978).

From the 1960s onward, Vistosi collaborated with some of the most celebrated names in design, such as Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), Liisi Meronen Beckmann (1924-2004), Adalberto Dal Lago (b. 1937), Michele De Lucchi (b. 1951),Vico Magistretti (1920-2006), Alberto Meda (b. 1945), Eleonore Peduzzi Riva (b. 1937), Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007), and Marco Zanuso (1916-2001). Although most of the pieces from these collaborations are well documented, Vistosi’s many eccentric one-offs and small editions can be challenging to definitively attribute, date, and authenticate.

The pieces produced during the 1960s and ‘70s—most of which are white or translucent—anticipated both minimalism and the excess of the 1980s. Their emphasis on form is expressed through characteristically curvaceous shapes and elongated forms. Notable works from this time include Alessandro Pianon’s Pulcino glass birds collection (1961), Fulvio Bianconi’s Ih che bei or “Oh how pretty” series (c. 1963), and Eleanore Peduzzi Riva's large S621 Dish (1971), which can be found in MoMA's permanent collection.

In 1967, Vistosi debued the now-iconic, Murano glass-link Giogali Lighting designed by Italian architect, sculptor, and designer Angelo Mangiarotti (1921-2012). These revolutionary, highly successful chandeliers and lamps feature interconnected glass loops in an array of configurations. From the 1970s and ’80s, Vistosi also found success with Magistretti’s Alega Lamp (1970), De Lucchi’s Vega Table Lamp (1982), and several designs by Albert Leclerc and Ettore Sottsass.

Luciano directed the company until 1984. There are conflicting stories as to who gained ownership of the company afterward. Some accounts state that Vistosi was acquired by lighting specialist Aurelian Toso; while other sources report that Maurizio Albarelli took helm in 1985. According to Vistosi’s own website, however, the company was acquired by the Italian businessman Giancarlo Moretti in 1989. In the early ‘90s the factory closed, but was reopened a few years later with the help of Giancarlo's son, Matteo Moretti, who relaunched the Vistosi brand after a deep reorganization of the production and commercial sectors. At the end of the 20th century, Vistosi acquired the brands Alox, Triade, and G2 in order to focus on a more international market. Today the company continues to collaborate with important designers to produce high-quality lighting fixtures.