Ricostruzione

Vespa, Lettera 22, Fiat 500 and Superleggera: Italy became a design nation.

After the war industry switched to peaceful products. The Vespa of 1946 and the Lambretta of 1947 set Italians in motion, and Marcello Nizzoli's Lettera 22 typewriter for Olivetti of 1950 became a classic. Dante Giacosa's Fiat Nuova 500 arrived in 1957.

Architects worked with family firms: Gio Ponti's Superleggera chair for Cassina of 1957, the Castiglioni brothers' lamps for Flos and Kartell's plastic objects. The Compasso d'Oro was established in 1954, and the Milan furniture fair began in 1961.