Candle 

Candle Illuminazione was an Italian lighting manufacturer based in Milan, founded in the mid-1950s. The company became known for bold, sometimes eccentric and futuristic designs.

Over the decades, Candle worked with a wide range of designers. Names associated with Candle include, among others: Vico Magistretti, Gae Aulenti, Sergio Asti, M. Ferrari, Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’Urbino, Paolo Lomazzi, A. Fornaroli, G. Botturi, S. Lo Bianco – Bocola, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Angelo Mangiarotti, Giotto Stoppino, Allesandro Pianon, Giorgio and Max Pajetta, Rodolfo Bonetto,Riccardo Giovanetti, Francesco Gobbi, Luciano Pagani and Angelo Perversi, Charles Williams, Jonathan Daifuku, Silvio Caputo, Tim Power, Pierluigi Cerri, Christophe Pillet, and many more.

Company locations

Candle ’s original headquarters and showroom were located at Via Ariberto 24, 20123 Milan, an address that appears in company catalogues of the late 1960s and early 1970s. From 1 April 1973, the company officially relocated to a new and larger site at Via Salaino 7, 20144 Milan. This address formed part of a broader industrial complex historically associated with Candle, including production-related facilities such as storage areas and service buildings.

In addition to its Milan base, Candle maintained affiliated showrooms in Rome (Via Monte Brianzo 56) and Turin (Piazza Arbarello 7), reflecting the company’s national presence within Italy during its most active period.

In 1993, FontanaArte acquired Candle and developed it as an additional division/line aimed at a younger audience, with projects by upcoming designers and more competitive pricing, supported by newer materials and production processes.

The Candle name is no longer commonly used as an independent brand; Candle designs and production are generally presented under FontanaArte.

FontanaArte

FontanaArte was founded in Milan in 1932 by Luigi Fontana and Giò Ponti (1891 – 1979). The company is known for the processing of curved glass and for the production of lighting equipment, becoming over the years a prominent name for Italian design.

Giò Ponti invites Pietro Chiesa (1892 – 1942) to join him in the art direction. Chiesa is a distinguished glass master who enlists the craftsmen from his own workshop to join him to the company. Gio Ponti designed the 0024 pendant lamp and the Bilia table lamp in 1931.

Pietro Chiesa’s most famous lamp at that time is the Luminator, designed in 1933, in 1937 the 006.

In 1954, Max Ingrand, a French glass master and decorator, renowned for his stunning stained-glass church windows, becomes the art director. He designed the Fontana table lamp.

Gio Pontibecomes again art director in 1967 and he designs a new collection of lamps, the Pirellina and Pirellone table lamps.

Gae Aulenti becomes the art director in 1979. Her first move is to makeover the collection. She is flanked by Piero Castiglioni, Pierluigi Cerri, Daniela Puppa and Franco Raggi. The Parola table lamp is born in 1980.

In 1993 FontanaArte  acquires Candle, another Italian lighting brand.

The list of designers that worked for the company is infinite. You can find the majority over here on the FontanaArte website.