Set of Four Trays by Gianfranco Frattini for Progetti, 1970

Gianfranco Frattini is widely regarded as a mid-century master of Italian modern design. He was an award-winning architect and designer, and specialized in creating furniture and decor that is both decorative and practical — Frattini’s vintage desks, armchairs, nesting tables and other works are celebrated for their sophisticated merging of function and form.

Born in Padua in 1926, Frattini studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. He later apprenticed with his teacher and mentor, Gio Ponti. Through Ponti — arguably the most important figure in 20th-century Italian architecture and design — Frattini met many notable modernist designers such as Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier, but an introduction to famed Italian entrepreneur Cesare Cassina would prove incredibly significant in helping launch his career.

During the mid-1950s, Frattini began to collaborate with Cassina’s eponymous company. He designed the brand’s acclaimed leather and walnut Model 849 lounge chair — a winner of the Compasso d’Oro award — the Marema nesting tables and the iconic Sesann collection. The latter, an enduring 1970s suite of impossibly welcoming leather-covered seating, is now produced by Tacchini. In addition to Cassina, Frattini created furniture and lighting for other manufacturers such as Bernini, Arteluce, Artemide, Knoll and more.

While many of his designs incorporate glass, tubular steel and other materials, Frattini loved working with wood. The sculptural Albero bookcase — an innovative floor-to-ceiling structure made in walnut that swings on a 360-degree vertical swivel axis — is a striking example of Frattini’s dedication to traditional woodworking techniques. In the early 1970s, he traveled to Japan with friend and collaborator Pierluigi Ghianda — a master Milanese cabinet maker — in order to study the work of artisans in Kyoto. The trip inspired his design of the Kyoto table, a work of solid beech with Canaletto walnut inserts that is part of the permanent collection of the Milan Triennale’s Design Museum. The Kyoto and Albero have been revived by Poltrona Frau.

Frattini’s designs are in the permanent collections of prestigious museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Find vintage Gianfranco Frattini furniture, lighting and decor on 1stDibs.

Progetti is an Italian furniture and lighting manufacturer founded by Gianfranco Frattini. Owner Renato Parisotto, Italian born and raised, has been living and working in the United States since 1999. In the footsteps of the family business, he started his first company Studio Par in 1983, at age 22. His intuition was to create a new trend in luxury shoes sales, opening a showroom in the core of Milan fashion district. During his 16-year career in the fashion industry, Mr. Parisotto covered a broad range of positions, from sales to consulting in product design and development, to buying and merchandising for high end boutiques. In 1999, Mr. Parisotto decided to follow his passion for furniture and interior design as he was moving to Los Angeles. He founded Bianca Italia, Inc. in collaboration with Baleri Italia, to represent several brands in the US and Canada markets. In 2004, relocating to the East Coast, he became co-owner of Adlon, promoting the company as a staple in furniture and design for the DC Metro area. In his last fifteen years of experience in retail and interior design, he developed strong contacts with clients, professionals and suppliers.