Born in Lucca in 1921, Elio Martinelli graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence as a set designer and contributes over the years with his creativity to the development of his father Plinio’s activity in the lighting sector. After some years and various experiences in the field of scenography, around the fifties, he began to design lighting fixtures, highlighting its unique style and contributing to the creation and growth of its lighting company Martinelli Luce, which becomes a benchmark in Italian design. His inspiration is based on simplicity, geometry and the many forms of nature, he experiments new materials, investigating new ideas, new technologies and production systems, always pursuing the evolution of light sources. He was one of the first designers to use plastic materials in lamp making. He passed away in 2004, after an illness that had also forced him in recent years to move away from his beloved activity.