Gino Sarfatti was born in 1912 to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother,  in a wealthy middle-class commercial family. After classical studies, he attended the faculty of Aeronautical Engineering in Genoa. In 1935 the family moved to Milan where, after an experience in the sale of art glass, he worked both with his own small company and with the Lumen company: on his writing paper he defined his commitment as rational lighting . He frequented Franco Albini, Lucio Fontana, Lica and Albe Steiner. In February 1939 he founded Arteluce Società Anonima AL with some members of the Milanese company and became its General Manager. The company has as its corporate purpose the lighting fixtures, lighting applications, furniture components as well as the study and creation of furnishings. From the beginning,  the lamps do not have a name but are identified with a number that is progressive within the category. It won many international awards, including the Compasso d'oro in 1954 and 1955, with the models 559 and 1055. In December 1973, the year in which he won the gold medal at the XV Triennale, he sold the company, now no longer operational. From 1974 he retired to live in Griante di Cadenabbia (CO) where he received visits from scholars: the last meeting was a few days after his death in preparation for the great exhibition at the Center Georges Pompidou lumières je pense à vous ; the guest is Jean François Grunfeld, who wrote about him as de the greatest creator of lamps of the 20th century.  During the interview and in a subsequent correspondence, Gino Sarfatti retraces the entire arc of his activity.