Giovanni Michelucci

A great promoter of the contamination between architecture, design, art and craftsmanship, Giovanni Michelucci (Pistoia, 1891 - 1990) lived fully, thanks to his longevity, the complexities, transformations and ideas that characterized the 20th century design universe. Renowned among the most important Italian architects of the 20th century — the Florence Santa Maria Novella railway station and the church of San Giovanni Battista on the Autostrada del Sole are among his most famous projects — after an initial experience as an engraver, by the 30s he was an established architect, and was elected President of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Florence in 1945. From the 20s to the 80s, his projects were enriched by the creation of furnishings made in collaboration with the most prestigious Tuscan craftsmen. The repertoire ranged from Déco inspirations to the biomorphic experiments of the 40s, which culminated in the famous Scapular chair-sculpture, up to the most recent furnishings, characterized by essential shapes, produced in series for Poltronova, Delecta and for the Fantacci carpentry. Many of these pieces are kept in Villa Roseto in Fiesole, the home-studio of the architect, who established the Giovanni Michelucci Foundation in this house in 1982.