Although he is relatively unknown in the U.S., Augusto Romano is renowned throughout his native Italy as an important architect and mid-century modern furniture designer.
Born in 1918, Romano studied architecture and design at the Politecnico di Torino, graduating in 1944. From 1947 to 1949, Romano taught at his alma mater in the department of architectural planning. Then, from 1949 to 1950, he taught in the school’s department of interior architecture (at the time, this department was chaired by celebrated furniture designer Franco Albini).
In addition to his teaching career, Romano was an established architect and furniture designer who drew on the works of the era’s Scandinavian modernists as well as Le Corbusier, a highly influential architect and urban planner whose career spanned almost five decades. Romano worked with wicker, waxed oak and other materials to create chairs and dining room tables that reflected a light, clean and elegant style of design.
By the late 1940s, Romano was winning acclaim for his innovative modular furniture. He won awards at the Triennale Milano in 1947 for a magazine rack and a glass-topped coffee table made with wood strips and brass rods. In the same year, Romano’s lightweight and collapsible tables, produced by Portuguese manufacturer Altamira, were shown at the CADMA exhibition held at the House of Italian Handicrafts in New York City.
Romano’s success with furniture designs and interior projects continued throughout the 1950s. He collaborated with the Italian manufacturer Cassina to create ashwood armchairs and walnut dining room chairs. With renowned architects Ettore Sottsass and Ildo Avetta, Romano worked on designing single-family houses in the QT8 section of Milan.
Romano’s furniture and architectural works were featured over the years in books by Herman Miller design director George Nelson as well as in a range of prominent publications including Interiors and Domus.
Find vintage Augusto Romano seating, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Wooden coffee table with brass ferrules, Italy 1950s
Located in Firenze, IT
Particular Italian wooden coffee table from the 1950s of excellent workmanship. The coffee table has a rectangular top with thick rounded corners that tapers toward the ends, walnut ...
Brass
Coffee table with plywood top, Italian made, 1960s
Located in Firenze, IT
Distinctive coffee table from the 1960s, Italian made, with a distinctive plywood top in mahogany tones and shaped near the leg joint.
Wood, Plywood
Italian manufacture, Low three-legged coffee table for living room, 1950s
Located in Firenze, IT
Polished wood coffee table in mahogany colors, 1950s, Italian made. It features a binding combination in the forms, supported by three legs and a distinctive and peculiar grissin on ...
Wood
Oak-Veneered Coffee Table with an Abstract Enameled Copper Plaque, Italy, late
Located in Firenze, IT
An exceptional and culturally significant mid-century modern coffee table (tavolino da fumo), dating from the late 1950s or early 1960s. This piece represents a superb synthesis of p...
Metal, Copper
Tavolo Orrido Canyon, Paolo Pallucco e Mireille Rivier, 1987
By Paolo Pallucco & Mireille Rivier, Pallucco
Located in Firenze, IT
Rarissimo tavolo Orrido Canyon, disegnato da Paolo Pallucco e Mireille Rivier, prodotto da Pallucco nel 1987. Rara edizione in metallo laccato argento e con un piano di vetro di cm 140
Steel
Pair of Mid-Century Stools Attributed to Tony Paul, United States, 1950s
By Tony Paul
Located in Firenze, IT
An exceptional and highly collectible pair of mid-century modern three-legged stools (often used in modernist interiors as organic side tables or sculptural planters), attributed to ...
Rattan, Nutwood
Coffee Table, attributed to Augusto Romano, Italy 1940s
By Augusto Romano
Located in Greding, DE
Coffee table on hairpin legs in orange-red colored wood and round table top with corded edge in natural fiber. The table top is also in a shade of orange. The table is attributed to ...
Wood
Tavolino circolare in legno, Italia, anni '50.
Located in Palermo, PA
Classico tavolino circolare in legno di produzione italiana degli anni '50 circa. Ottime condizioni, presenta qualche segno di usura del tempo, struttura molto solida, vedere foto. D...
Wood
Low wooden coffee table, made in Italy, 1950s Mid-Century Modern
Located in Palermo, IT
Vintage tripod coffee table dating from the mid-20th-century Modernist period of the 1950s. It features a distinctive, asymmetrical, organic silhouette in the shape of a rounded tria...
Metal
Mid Century Modern Italian Augusto Romano Coffee Table
By Augusto Romano
Located in London, GB
A mid-20th century coffee or side table in walnut and maple timber by architect and designer Augusto Romano (1918-2001). Featuring a decorative, book-matched veneer top above dramati...
Maple
ISA Bergamo Attrib. Wooden Coffee Table with Shaped Top, Italy, 1950s
By ISA Bergamo
Located in Naples, IT
This coffee table, attributed to the ISA Bergamo factory and typical of Italian design from the 1950s, is a perfect example of the Mid-Century Modern style. The tabletop is made of w...
Metal, Brass
Restored Mid-Century Small Wooden Table, by Český Nábytek-NP Jičín, Czech, 1950s
Located in Brandys nad Labem, Středočeský kraj
Maker: ČESKÝ NÁBYTEK, Národní Podnik - Jičín We are delighted to present an iconic coffee table from the Mid-Century Modern period, dating back to the mid-20th century (1950s - 1960...
Wood, Oak, Lacquer, Beech
