Paolo Rizzatto

Paolo Rizzatto (1941-) is an Italian architect and designer, particularly known for his works in the field of lighting. Originally from Brianza, he graduated in 1966 from the Milan Polytechnic, where he taught Franco Albini. His first lamp bears the date of 1973 and is still a bestseller: it is the 265 model, produced by Gino Sarfatti's Arteluce (now merged into Flos). In 1978 he partnered with Gino's son, Riccardo Sarfatti, and his wife Sandra Severi: this is how Luceplan was born, destined to become one of the most famous lamp brands in the world. Rizzatto personally signs many of Luceplan's most successful products, pursuing a revolutionary high tech aesthetic that has earned him countless international awards including 5 Compassi d'Oro (1981, 1989, 1995, 2008, 2011). He has also often experimented with furniture design, working for prestigious brands such as Alias, Driade, Ghidini 1961, Kartell and Danese Milano, and with architecture and urban planning: he also bears his signature, for example, the recent restyling of the Dock in Milan. Her daughter Gala has instead followed a different artistic vocation: she is in fact one of the best known interpreters of European dance music.