Angelo Lelii

Angelo Lelii (1915–1979) was an Italian designer and entrepreneur active in the lighting sector, best remembered for founding the Arredoluce brand. Born in Ancona and having moved to Milan at a young age, Lelii studied in Monza, where in 1943 he launched Arredoluce. It began as a self-produced lamp-making venture in the basement of his home and then, from 1947 onward, developed into a fully fledged company—also thanks to fruitful collaborations with some of the most important designers of the time, including Gio Ponti, Nanda Vigo, Ettore Sottsass, Achille Castiglioni, and many others. The most famous lamps designed directly by Lelii date mainly from the 1940s and early 1950s and are now considered almost archetypal icons of Mid-Century style. Chief among them is model 12128, presented at the 1947 Triennale and now known precisely as the “Triennale.” Arredoluce’s identity became entirely bound up with Lelii himself, who continued designing lamps in the decades that followed; just a few years after his death, the company ceased operations, though it remained a cult name among vintage design enthusiasts. From 2018, the Arredoluce brand was acquired and revived by the Brianza-based company Penta, making Lelii’s most celebrated creations widely available again after more than thirty years.