Cesare Leonardi
Modena, 1935 - 2021
Cesare Leonardi (Modena, 1935) graduated from the architecture department at the University of Florence in 1970. Franca Stagi (1937-2008) graduated from the Milan Polytechnic in 1962. From 1963 to 1983 Franca Stagi and Cesar Leonardi ran an architecture firm in Modena that was known for its fiberglass objects such as the Nastro and Dondolo seating, which were published in magazines and design books and are part of the permanent collections in leading museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am...
Cesare Leonardi (Modena, 1935) graduated from the architecture department at the University of Florence in 1970. Franca Stagi (1937-2008) graduated from the Milan Polytechnic in 1962. From 1963 to 1983 Franca Stagi and Cesar Leonardi ran an architecture firm in Modena that was known for its fiberglass objects such as the Nastro and Dondolo seating, which were published in magazines and design books and are part of the permanent collections in leading museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. From 1970 to 1980 their firm's practice was varied, including architecture, parks, and public structures (schools, athletic facilities, cemeteries) designed to encourage close contact with trees and green space.
After the firm was disbanded, Leonardi began to practice design and urban planning on his own. He designed the Solidi, a system of modular and flexible furnishings, and the Struttura Reticolare Acentrata, or centerless reticular structure, a method for creating parks and organizing land that was applied to the creation of the Bosco Albergati park (1988). He used photography to document, investigate, and design. One of his best-known works in this arca is a photographic survey of Modena's main cathedral, published in 1985 Beginning in 1983 Stagi became known for her profesional and civic commitment to public architecture and her commitment to safeguarding historical architectural legacies. She was responsible for the restoration of some of Modena's best known architecture, including the Grande Albergo delle Arti, home to the Civic Muscums; the Collegio San Carlo; the Teatro Comunale; the Foro Boario; the former San Paolo monastery; the city's synagogue; and the Baluardo della Cittadella.
The Archivio Architetto Cesare Leonardi was created in 2010 for the purpose of preserving and promoting the work of Cesare Leonardi. The work of organizing and cataloguing the archive's materials has been underway since 2015.
Stagi's family donated the Archivio di Franca Stagi to the Luigi Poletti Civic Art Library in Modena, where it was organized and inventoried in 2011.
Designs Cesare Leonardi
