Manlio Armellini, a tireless advocate for Italian design and one of the founding fathers of Milan's Salone del Mobile, the world's largest furniture fair, has passed away at the age of 83.
He died on November 16, 2020, after dedicating more than 40 years of his life to the furniture industry.
Armellini was involved in Salone from its inaugural edition in 1961 until his last breath, earning the fair Europe's oldest design prize, the Compasso d'Oro, for the "promotion of Italian design."
He also secured the country's highest honour, the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, for himself.
Since becoming the fair's secretary-general in 1974, Armellini presided over an increase in visitor numbers from 67,000 to 348,000 a year and a growth in exhibition space from 97,000 to 222,000 square metres, making it the largest design fair in the world. "With Manlio's passing, we have lost a friend whose tenacity and skill enable the Salone del Mobile to achieve successes recognised the world over," the fair's president Claudio Luti said in a statement.
"He initiated cultural projects that rubbed off on the city of Milan, he was behind and believed in the Salone Satellite project and took on board the many changes that occurred over time, unfailingly coming up with solutions and innovations to safeguard and bolster the Salone brand, which was also his home and his life, with his wife Armida by his side."
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