Domenico “Ico” Parisi was one half of a prolific postwar design duo he comprised with his wife, Luisa. Their furniture designs are known for running the stylistic gamut, with celebrated mid-century modern pieces ranging from elegantly skeletal — like dramatic ebonized dining chairs — to plush and shapely, like the iconic 1951 Egg chair, in a plethora of materials.
The son of an art teacher father, Ico Parisi was exposed to art at an early age. Born in 1916 in the Sicilian capital of Palermo, he and his family moved to Como in 1925. There, the young Parisi would begin to develop his interest in architecture and design. After earning a degree as a building inspector in 1936 and working as a civil engineer, Parisi took on an apprenticeship in the studio of Giuseppe Terragni, the modernist, fascist Italian architect, pioneer of the Rationalist movement and creator of the iconic Casa del Fascio.
While working for Terragni, Parisi crossed paths with such contemporary design talents as Lucio Fontana, Bruno Munari and Pietro Lingeri, though he briefly moved away from design and architecture to explore photography and film. His artistic work would soon be interrupted, however, by the outbreak of World War II, during which he served at the front before returning to Como in 1943. There, he resumed work as a designer and architect, founding two architecture groups: the Alta Quota and the Gruppo Como.
Through his creative circles, Parisi met Luisa Aiani, a former student of the prolific architect and furniture designer Gio Ponti, who was affiliated with the Alta Quota. They married in 1947 and founded the studio La Ruota — a cross between a design firm and an intellectual salon — in Como shortly thereafter. In 1950, Parisi finally completed his architectural schooling, studying under the nationalist architect Alberto Sartoris at the Athenaeum Architecture School in Lausanne, Switzerland. He and Aiani began several decades of sophisticated output, designing curved sofas upholstered in yellow velvet and armchairs with slender mahogany frames for enduring Italian manufacturers such as Cassina and others.
Much like Charles and Ray Eames in America, the Parisis worked as a team and relied on experimentation in style and material for many of their designs. Ico Parisi died in Como in 1996.
Find a collection of vintage Ico Parisi coffee tables, dining chairs and more on 1stDibs.
A MID-CENTURY-MODERN COFFEE TABLE Mod.751 by ICO PARISI for CASSINA Italy 1950
By Franco Albini, Ico Parisi
Located in PARIS, FR
An architectural and square rectangular coffee table, Mid-Century-Modern, Modernist, Constructivist, straight geometric wooden structure, holding an original super thick Murano glass...
Glass, Wood
Wooden and glass coffee table attributed to Ico Parisi, Italy 1950
By Ico Parisi
Located in Piacenza, Italy
Elegant coffee table designed by Ico Parisi, featuring a sculptural wooden structure with dynamic, tapering lines typical of Parisi’s refined mid-century aesthetic. The tabletop is m...
Glass, Wood
$2,621Sale Price|20% Off
Coffee Table "Urio" by Ico Parisi for MIM Roma
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Albano Laziale, Rome/Lazio
Unusual long table "Urio" with tubular legs in black lacquered metal and cast aluminum, wood and Formica top. Ico Parisi designer and MIM production (Mobili Italiani Moderni), Itali...
Aluminum
Ico Parisi for Cassina '751' Coffee Table in Dark Wood and Glass
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Ico Parisi for Figli di Amedeo Cassina, coffee table, model '751', stained wood, glass, Italy, 1962 This coffee table, designed in 1962 by Ico Parisi for Figli di Amedeo Cassina (m...
Glass, Wood
Ico Parisi Mid-Century Modern Italian Coffee Table, 1960s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Italian coffee table from the early 1960s designed by Ico Parisi in solid wood and poplar veneered top, completely restored and polished with shellac.
Poplar
1960s Mid-Century Modern Square 751 Coffee Table by Ico Parisi per Cassina
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in Aci Castello, IT
A nr 751 square coffee table designed by Ico Parisi, manufactured by Cassina, it's labeled cassina and it has normal signs of use and age on the wood and the glass. It is a classic e...
Glass, Wood
751 coffee table by Ico Parisi per Cassina
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
You said: Uploaded image Scrivi un inserzione in inglese per 1stdibs per questa libreria italiana degli anni '60 con montanti in teak massello, lavorati dal pieno. Ripiani in teak c...
Glass, Wood
$1,236Sale Price|30% Off
Low square brown wooden MIM table Ico Parisi Model Tivoli 1960 Label
By Ico Parisi
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Low Square Table made by MIM of Rome designed by Ico Parisi with Original Label
Wood
$412Sale Price|50% Off
Ico Parisi for De Baggis Mod. 221 Wood and Glass Coffee Table, Italy 1956
By Angelo De Baggis, Ico Parisi
Located in Palermo, IT
Elegant low table and magazine rack in dark wood, two inclined glass shelves, brass finishes and retractable tray with wooden frame and transparent glass top, "model 221" by Ico Pari...
Brass
Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table by Ico Parisi for Cassina, Italy, 1960s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern coffee table by Ico Parisi for Cassina, Italy, 1960s.
Glass, Wood
$2,310Sale Price|30% Off
Table Coffee Midcentury Italian Design Square MIM by Ico Parisi, 1958 Tivoli
By Ico Parisi
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Table coffee midcentury Italian design square MIM by Ico Parisi, 1958.
Wood
Rectangular Coffee Table "Urio" Ico Parisi for MIM Roma, Italy, 1960s
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Rome, IT
This model Urio rectangular table comprises tubular legs in black lacquered metal and cast aluminum, and a wooden top. Ico Parisi designed the piece for M.I.M. (Mobili Italiani Moder...
Metal, Aluminum
Large Mod. 751 Coffee Table by Ico Parisi for Cassina, 1960s
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Varese, Lombardia
Rare coffee table in blond walnut designed by Ico Parisi and produced by Cassina (Meda, Italy) in the 1960s. The ground glass table top is housed within a solid walnut structure. The...
Cut Glass, Walnut
Ico Parisi Coffee Table in Glass and Wood for Cassina, Italy, 1962
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in Uithoorn, NL
Famous coffeetable by Italian architect Ico Parisi, designed in 1962 for Cassina. You see a lot of rectangular ones but this one, a square one, is much more rare. The most eye-catchi...
Glass, Wood
Ico Parisi ‘Tivoli’ Coffee Table in Teak for MIM Roma, Italy, 1958
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Uithoorn, NL
Architectural coffee table by Ico Parisi for MIM Roma called the 'Tivoli Coffee Table". The table is in a very good condition, no disturbing traces...
Metal
$2,357Sale Price|20% Off
Ico Parisi Wooden Table for Mim Roma, Published
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Milano, IT
A splendid coffee table designed by Ico Parisi for MIM Roma in the 1970s, of fine Italian manufacture. Published. The structure of the coffee table is made of tubular black metal, w...
Metal
Ico Parisi for MIM low table Italian midcentury design 1960 ca
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Milan, IT
This exceptional low table made by Ico Parisi around 1960 represents a rich period of collaboration between the designer and the MIM (Mobili Italiani Moderni) which was established i...
Metal
Living room coffee table, Designer Ico Parisi
By Ico Parisi
Located in Busnago, IT
Beautiful low coffee table for living room, with metal legs and central wooden frame, designer Ico Parisi, 1960s. Coffee table in good condition, minor signs present due to use and t...
Metal
$3,023Sale Price|10% Off
Coffee table in Wood and Metal/Brass by Ico Parisi for Cassina 1957
By Figli di Amadeo Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Mid Century Italian Coffee Table - Ico Parisi Coffee Table - Wooden coffee table - Vintage Italian coffee table A coffee table from the "735" series manufactured by CASSINA, 1957....
Brass, Steel
Wood and glass coffee table by Ico Parisi, model 751, for Cassina - 1962, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Vicenza, VI
Low coffee table for living room, model 751, is designed by famous Italian architect Ico Parisi in 1962 and produced by Figli di Amedeo Cassina. The solid wooden structure is ingeni...
Glass, Wood
"Urio" Square Coffee Table by Ico Parisi for Mim Roma, Italy 1960s
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in Roma, IT
Gorgeous "Urio" square coffee table in walnut. This iconic table was designed by Ico & Luisa Parisi for MiM Roma in Italy in the early 1960s. The beautiful tube-shaped legs of this...
Metal, Stainless Steel
Rare Italian Low Table by Ico Parisi for Brugnoli Mobili Cantu, 60s
By Brugnoli Mobili Cantú, Ico Parisi
Located in Lucija, SI
This rare low table was designed by Ico Parisi Produced by Brugnoli Mobili Cantu in 1952. Comparative Bibliography: R. Lietti, Ico Parisi Design Catalogue Raisonné 1936-1960, Silvan...
Glass, Wood
Mid-Century Ico Parisi for De Beggis Coffee Table Italian Design Circa 1950s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Torquay, GB
Mid-century Italian design coffee table by Eco Parisi for De Beggis, circa 1950s. Made of lacquered wood with an inset thick clear glass top, all supported by 4 tapered cone legs wit...
Brass
Ico Parisi for Singer & Sons Coffee Table Italian Mid Century Modern 61x27x16
By M. Singer & Sons, Ico Parisi
Located in Atlanta, GA
Elegant Italian Walnut and Brass Coffee Table, designed by Ico Parisi for Singer & Sons, Italy, circa 1960s. Clean lined design with storage shelf and drawer underneath. Singer & Son...
Brass
ICO PARISI - 3 tavolini ad incastro per De Baggis - Made in Italy 1950.
By Angelo De Baggis, Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
ICO. PARISI - Tris de tavolini ad incastro disegnati da ICO PARISI e fabbricati da ANGELO DE BIAGGIS, originali anni 50, in mogano massell. Sono stati solo lucidati.. Originali anni ...
Mahogany
751 square coffee table by Ico Parisi for Cassina, 1960s
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Busnago, IT
A nr 751 square coffee table designed by Ico Parisi, manufactured by Cassina, it's labeled cassina and it has normal signs of use and age on the wood and the glass. This is a classic...
Glass, Wood
$2,062Sale Price|30% Off
Round Ico Parisi Table Coffee Stildomuselezione 1959 Brass Teak Midcentury
By Ico Parisi
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Round Ico Parisi table coffee Stildomuselezione 1959 brass teak midcentury. Fire branding of the manufacture see attached photo.
Brass
Ico Parisi Coffe Table Brass Iron Marbre, 1950, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi coffee table.
Brass
Ico Parisi 1954 Telephone Stand, Wood and Glass and Brass, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi.
Wood
Ico Parisi Sculptural Open Bar Coffee Table Mod. Idra, Italy, 1960s
By Ico Parisi, Stildomus
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Sculptural and masculine dry bar oval coffee table designed by Ico Parisi and produced by Stildomuselezione, Italy, 1960. Literature: Roberta Lietti, Ico Parisi design Catalogo rag...
Metal
Ico Parisi 1954 Telephone Stand, Wood and Glass and Brass, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi.
Wood
Shaped wooden living room table with green Alps marble top
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi (1916-1996) Shaped wooden living room table with green Alps marble top. Coming from a private property in Como, around 1955.
Marble
Living room coffee table, Designer Ico Parisi
By Ico Parisi
Located in Busnago, IT
Beautiful low coffee table for living room, with metal legs and central wooden frame, designer Ico Parisi, 1960s. Coffee table in good condition, minor signs present due to use and t...
Metal