He was born in Venice in 1912 to a wealthy and well-established family. He studied engineering in Genoa. He is a successful entrepreneur, engineer and designer. In 1939, he founded his own lighting company. Throughout his career, he has designed more than 400 lighting products, experimenting with different materials and production methods. The lighting he designed with Plexiglas material was found suitable for use on ships. He was the first designer to produce light fixtures using halogen bulbs.