Alvise Luigi Massoni

Luigi Massoni was one of Italy’s most prolific designers and instrumental in the growth of the country’s design industry in the postwar years through his products, advertising campaigns and journalistic work at Italian magazines.

Born in Milan, Massoni trained at the Collettivo di Architettura in Milan and worked as an architect and designer as well as a freelance journalist and consultant. He was involved with many of Italy’s most influential brands, such as Poltrona Frau, the Guzzini group and Alessi. Massoni was hired by Alessi, the legendary housewares and kitchen utensils manufacturer, which had been around since 1921, in the mid-1950s. In 1957, he collaborated with like-minded product designer Carlo Mazzeri on the universally renowned stainless-steel cocktail shaker 870, which, followed by other kitchen containers for the brand, was one of the first objects from Alessi that hadn’t been created in-house.

Together with architect Carlo De Carli, Massoni founded a magazine called Il Mobile Italiano and later Mobilia, an association of Italian furniture makers and one of the first organizations that focused on the promotion of Italian design. In the 1960s, Massoni began to design lamps and serveware for Guzzini, where he also consulted on design and company communications. He designed revolutionary furnishings for the kitchen at Boffi Cucine, producing modular kitchens, cabinets without traditional handles and more.

On 1stDibs, browse a collection of vintage Luigi Massoni vanity tables, sideboards, table lamps and more.

The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.

Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.

Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat. 

Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.

As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.

There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation. 

With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.

The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.