Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
When discussing Italian architect Giovanni Michelucci, it is difficult to decide which is the more impressive achievement: his more than half-century track record of notable projects, which includes designing and restoring some of Tuscany’s most famous landmarks, or his nearly century-long life. While he is often remembered for passing away just two days before his centennial birthday, in the same breath he is memorialized for his exceptional contributions to Tuscan architecture, including Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Train Station, Palazzo delle Poste and restored rooms inside the legendary Uffizi Gallery.
Michelucci’s practice began in childhood, at his family’s artistic metal workshop. There, he rubbed elbows with many passing artists and architects before pursuing design academically at Florence’s Istituto Superiore di Architettura. Michelucci graduated in 1911 and embarked on a long teaching career. By the early 1920s, he was instructing at the Istituto d’Arte of Rome and later at the Istituto Superiore di Architettura, from 1928 until 1936. He served as dean of the school’s architectural faculty twice during the 1940s and founded the magazine La Nuova Città between the two appointments. He left Florence in 1948 to become a professor at the School of Engineering in Bologna, where he remained until his retirement.
Other significant architectural projects dot Michelucci ‘s career, like the Santa Maria Novella church and church of St. John the Baptist. Often working in collaboration with the Grouppo Tuscano, a collective of young architects, Michelucci beat out more than 100 other bidders on multiple contracts to bring his modernist, rationalist approach to Italy’s architectural landscape.
In his hometown of Pistoia, as well as Fiesole, Michelucci formed the Fondazione Giovanni Michelucci, which undertook social projects targeted at prisons, hospitals and asylums within the cities. He dedicated the rest of his life toward using architecture to address social challenges — a cause the foundation continues to support today.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Giovanni Michelucci lighting, case pieces and tables.
1960s Italian Brutalist Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Cane, Walnut
1980s Italian Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Velvet, Glass, Wood
1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Walnut
Mid-19th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Antique Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Rush, Walnut
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Nutwood
1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Walnut
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Wood
1980s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Upholstery
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Upholstery, Rosewood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Wood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Leather, Nutwood
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Walnut
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Walnut
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Raffia, Beech
1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
Straw, Beech
Early 20th Century Italian Arts and Crafts Giovanni Michelucci Chairs
