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.
$14,050Sale Price|20% Off
Rare Italian Red Sofa by Ico Parisi for Cassina Mod. 875, Published
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Rare four-seater sofa by Ico Parisi for Cassina model 875 of the 60s. The structure is metal, and the cover is red cotton fabric. The sofa through the clean lines and defined very ri...
Steel
Ico Parisi Coffe Table Brass Iron Marbre, 1950, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi coffee table.
Brass
$2,341Sale Price / set|20% Off
Ico Parisi Mid-Century Armchairs, Fiberglass & Velvet, Italy, 1967
By Ico Parisi, MIM Roma
Located in bari, IT
Set of four armchairs in white fiberglass Kubilia series of Ico Parisi for M.I.M. Rome, Italy. Ico Parisi was born in Palermo in 1916. He gained a diploma in construction and served his apprenticeship in Giuseppe Terragni's studio. In 1937 he carried out, for the magazine Quadrante, a photographic study of the Casa del Fascio that marked the entire research that Parisi conducted in "meditating on the legacies and contradictions of the enormous baggage of ideas and forms constituted by the experience of the masters". His activity, marked by continuous experimentation, is an incessant quest in the fields of architecture, art and design. Between 1948 and 1950 he devoted himself to the study of furniture elements. In the field of design, crucial encounters with Munari and Fontana (1951) and Melotti profoundly marked his experience. In 1948 he founded the studio La ruota with his wife Luisa Aiani, a designer and designer, which ceased its activity in 1995. In 1954 he was awarded the Gold Medal at the X Milan Triennale with the work Padiglione Soggiorno, with Silvio Longhi and Luigi Antonietti. In 1957 he presented at the exhibition Colori e forme della casa d'oggi the work Casa per vacanze, which was the result of a collaboration with Manlio Rho...
Velvet, Fiberglass
Movable Chest of Drawers by Ico Parisi for Spartaco Brugnoli, Italy, 1970s
By Ico Parisi, Longhi
Located in Milan, IT
Chest of drawers by Ico Parisi and manufactured by Spartaco Brugnoli. Oval piece with side wings, white top and three drawers. Four wheels allow to easily move the piece.
Wood
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
Mario Tsai, Aluminium Champagne Painted Tsai Suspension Lamp by Cassina
By Ico Parisi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Mario Tsai, Aluminium Champagne Painted Tsai Suspension Lamp by Cassina UNIT OF LIGHT A collection of modular metal lamps in which the base unit alludes to the shape of a brick. A ...
Aluminum
Ico Parisi Set of Three Iride Floor Lamp by Cassina, Aluminium
By Ico Parisi
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Ico Parisi Set of Three Iride Floor Aluminium Lamp by Cassina Ico Parisi’s fascination with the integration of design, art and architecture led to the creation of a floor lamp in th...
Aluminum
Ico Parisi Wall-mounted coat rack. Brass wood glass 1950s Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
EXCEPTIONAL AND RARE BRASS GLAZED GOWN HANGER by Ico PARISI
Brass
$27,200Sale Price|20% Off
Ico Parisi Sofa Model 865
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in New York, NY
Model 865 Sofa by Ico Parisi, 1955. Luxuriously low and chic with the lozenge shaped back and seat articulated with tubular painted steel. Newly reupholstered in off white boucle. This sofa beautifully shows the simplicity of form and mix of materials Ico Parisi was known for. It is accompanied by the certification from the Ico Parisi Design Archives. Details: Ico Parisi Sofa...
Metal
Ico Parisi Mid-Century Italian Slipper Chair in Black Leather
By Ico Parisi
Located in Queens, NY
Mid-Century Italian (1950s) slipper chair with a silver metal frame anchored by horizontal wood stretchers and upholstered in button tufted black leather. (ICO PARISI) Leather is cr...
Metal
Ico Parisi Wooden Magazine Holder, Mid-Century Italian Design, 62\"
By Ico Parisi
Located in Roma, IT
Magazine holder is an original design item realized by Ico Parisi in the half of 20th century. A precoius wooden magazine holder decorated wi...
Wood
Ico Parisi Magazine Rack Wood Glass Brass 1950 Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi.
Brass
Ico Parisi for Stildomus, wooden Cart, Trolley 60s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Padova, IT
A mix of style refinement and elegance for this two-shelf food trolley designed by Ico Parisi for Stildomous in the 1960s. Wooden and parts in nickel-plated brass. Signed under the s...
Brass
Floor Lamp Model "Iride" by Ico Parisi, Manufactured by Lamperti, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Brussels, BE
Floor Lamp Model "Iride" by Ico Parisi, Manufactured by Lamperti, Italy
Aluminum, Steel
Ico Parisi, 1954 Telephone Stand, Wood and Glass and Brass
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
The telephone stand, 1954 Ico Parisi. With two shelves (the upper glass shelf for the telephone and the smaller wooden shelf below for the phone book).
Wood
Ico Parisi Mid-Century Game Chairs, Beige Leather, Walnut Legs
By Ico Parisi
Located in Queens, NY
Pair of Mid-Century side / game chairs with beige leather upholstery and solid slightly tapered backs, resting on four tapered square walnut legs. (ICO PARISI FOR SINGER & SONS)(...
Leather
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 875 Armchair by Cassina, Metal & Fabric, Mid-Century
By Ico Parisi, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Armchair designed by Ico Parisi in 1960, relaunched in 2020. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Designed by Ico Parisi in 1960 for Cassina, at that time “Figli di Amedeo Cassina”,...
Metal
Metal and Wood Cart by Ico Parisi for MIM Rome, Italy, 1950s
By MIM Roma, Ico Parisi
Located in Milan, IT
Cart by Ico Parisi for MIM Roma. Late 50s upfront design with metal details.
Metal
Mid-Century Teak Wall Unit by Ico Parisi, Italy 1960s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-century teak wall unit by Ico Parisi - Italy 1960s.
Teak
Low Side Table with Drawers by Ico Parisi
By Fratelli Rizzi, Ico Parisi
Located in Petershagen, DE
Designed by Ico Parisi and produced by Fratelli Rizzi in Cantù around 1957, this unique square low side table is one of a kind. It has three flush drawers on one side, two open compa...
Wood, Walnut
Italian Modernist Scooped-Back Leather Lounge/Accent Chair by Ico Parisi for MIM
By Ico Parisi
Located in Kensington, MD
Chair of sculpted wood and vintage brown leather. Designed by Ico Parisi, the experimental mid century modernist designer. The lounge chair fits inside the range of elegant designs t...
Wood
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
Ico Paris iron table for Sampietro, Como, Italy, 1950s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Padova, IT
Four V-shaped legs created by molding a single piece of iron tubing are welded to the main structure at the top, where they bend outwards to support the tabletop. This is made from a...
Iron
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
Ico Parisi Two Armchairs for Cassina Modl 814 in Cognac Leather
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, MI
Amazing one set of two Ico Parisi armcharis for Cassina, in leather upholstery
Leather, Tulipwood
Ico Parisi 1954 Telephone Stand, Wood and Glass and Brass, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi.
Wood
Ico Parisi 1954 Telephone Stand Wood Glass and Brass, Italy
By Ico Parisi
Located in Milano, IT
Ico Parisi 1954 telephone stand rosewood wood glass and brass, Italy.
Wood
$11,708Sale Price / set|20% Off
Rare Italian Design: Ico Parisi 856 Lounge Chairs for Cassina, 1950s
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Renens, CH
A pair of “856” lounge chairs by Ico Parisi for Cassina, produced during the 1950s in Italy. The chairs have been beautifully re-upholstered in new dark brown semi-aniline leathe...
Metal
Ico Parisi, Dresser with riser series 540, prod. Longhi Brothers, 1969
By Fratelli Longhi, Ico Parisi
Located in Rivoli, IT
Lacquered wood frame, wood and metal details. Prod. Fratelli Longhi, 1960s Bibl.: Domus No. 478, Sept. 1969, advertising page
Metal
Wooden Desk, Ico Parisi, 1968
By Ico Parisi
Located in Berlin, DE
This elegant and minimalistic desk has a wooden construction, with the original lacquer in blue-grey. The top is made of glass plate, handles made of matt-chromed metal. Listed Pari...
Glass, Wood
Mid-Century " Antares" Table Lamp by Ico Parisi, Wood and Fabric, 1950s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century " Antares" Table Lamp by Ico Parisi, Wood and Fabric, 1950s
Fabric, Wood
Wrought Iron Square Table by Ico Parisi, Mid-Century Modern, 1950
By Ico Parisi
Located in Brussels, BE
Wrought iron square table by Ico Parisi.
Wrought Iron
Ico Parisi, Eight armchairs mod. 814, prod. Cassina, 1961
By Cassina, Ico Parisi
Located in Rivoli, IT
Rare set of eight armchairs production Cassina design Ico and Luisa Parisi model 814 year 1961. Black lacquered wooden frame, upholstered seat and backrest and covered in red color ...
Velvet, Wood