Roberto Mango Between Naples and New York

Despite a recent and rising interest towards Roberto Mango, the Neapolitan designer is not yet adequately integrated in Italian design history. In actual fact, besides having been a multifaceted designer of some of the most iconic designs of the 1950s, such as the tubular metal and straw Sunflowers Chair, and the extendable T48 table designed for Tecno, Mango was also an Art Director, a graphic designer, photographer, essayist and university lecturer who started one of the first schools of design in Italy, based in Naples. However, one of the most distinctive features of his highly original work for the Italian scene, was his close relationship with the United States. Ties overseas developed between his training years and the debut of his professional activity. In 1949 he was awarded a scholarship to complete a two-year postgraduate course in the United States. Roberto Mango set off for New Jersey to deepen his research into building prefabrication at Princeton University Graduate School. Nevertheless, he spent much longer in the United States than expected until his return to Italy in 1952.