Martinelli Luce, the beginning
The path was blazed in the second half of the 1940s by set designer Elio Martinelli, who created and manufactured lamps for theatre sets with scenic forms that interact with the theatrical action, becoming part of the narration. Elio's lamps are technical-decorative: they must link to the set design and integrate with the stage project, but they must also meet lighting needs.
Elio creates and manufactures these luminaires himself. Giò Ponti, who noticed the high quality of his lamps, pushed him to sell them. Elio took his suggestion and began touring Tuscany in a Lambretta to present his products, aided by his wife.
With more than positive results, Martinelli Luce was founded in 1950 in a basement called "laboratory". The handcrafted creation of decorative lamps requires few tools, and numerous ideas and inspirations come from geometry and nature. This results in a production offer that is highly functional, has suggestive, sober shapes, and makes excellent use of materials—including then-novel, for the time, methacrylate—while still being aesthetically pleasing to the public.
