Azucena - Catilina chair upholstered seat

From the moment it was first presented at the XI Triennale in Milan in 1957, Catilina became one of Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s classics. He loved the design so much that guests in his studio would settle down by his desk to chat in these chairs.

At first glance you would be forgiven for assuming this unusual object to be unfinished. Instead Caccia Dominioni created both a new chair and defined how to sit in it. Catilina is not designed for relaxation and letting go but for thoughtfulness and elegance. You could almost be transported back to ancient Rome ensconced in the seat of the Roman senator, Lucio Sergio Catilina, after whom the chair is named. In turn, the chair harks back to medieval thrones or the horseshoe armchairs so typical in classical Chinese furniture. Catilina is essentially a stroke of the pen, a play on curves, an object that - as Caccia Dominioni liked to say himself - is “ethereal, no more than a series of curved iron bars”. Whatever interpretation you give it, Catilina embodies a product designed for comfort, thanks to the well- upholstered cushion, and dignity. When you place your arms on the upper rim you can’t help but feel regal in contrast to the sense of abandon when you sink back into a sofa. Is it a chair? An armchair? Or should we simply call it a “throne”?

Luigi Caccia Dominioni

Luigi Caccia Dominioni was born in Milan on 7 December 1913, in the family home in Piazza Sant'Ambrogio, a house that he rebuilt after the destruction in the bombing of August 1943.

He completed the entire cycle of studies, up to the Liceo classico, at the Istituto Leone XIII in Milan, run by the Jesuits. In 1931 he enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture at the Regio Istituto Tecnico Superiore (future Politecnico di Milano). During his university studies he met Livio and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Cesare Cattaneo, Giannino Bernasconi - the future BBPR - and his teachers were Luigi Moretti and Piero Portaluppi.  He graduated in 1936 and obtained a professional qualification in Venice. In 1937, with the brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, he opened a professional studio: together with them he participated in various competitions, obtaining brilliant results.  The first realization in the field of industrial design, together with them, dates back to 1938 and concerns some models of radio equipment for Phonola, later improved and presented in 1940 at the VII Triennale di Milano; At the Triennale, the three architects also stand out for the setting up of exhibitions and the production of other design objects, such as Miracoli cutlery. His professional activity ranges from design to architecture and takes place mainly in Milan.

Azucena

In 1947 Luigi Caccia Dominioni , Ignazio Gardella and Corrado Corradi Dell'Acqua founded the company. The Italian brand Azucena has always stood out for its collections that combine formal elegance, discreet luxury, pure and sharp aesthetics and a very high craftsmanship.

Azucena (named after the gypsy of the play Il Trovatore) was created to collect furniture projects for the furnishing of the buildings they designed.

A series of iconic pieces that revive, characterized by the union of different materials, but always refined, and the reinterpretation of traditional stylistic forms.

In 2018 he joined B&B Italia, which wanted to preserve and revive him, in an active vision of Italian heritage. The historic brand returns to the market with a series of "modern classics" designed by architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni from the late 1940s.

Chairs, sofas, tables and lamps that have written the history of Made in Italy design and that return today as a testimony of class and quality.