Company

Company

About Us

Cini&Nils, always an expression of excellence
of Italian design and Made in Italy production

Founded in 1969, Cini&Nils has made quality one of its strong points. It is a creative boutique where ideas are skilfully transformed into products that use the most advanced LED technology and whose lines are essential, rigorous and rich in detail.

In October 2022, Cini&Nils was acquired by Lombardo, marking a new phase of significant relaunch and continuing to consolidate its position as a benchmark in the field of high-end decorative and technical lighting.

The artistic offer is attentive to environmental sustainability and direct interaction with the user using the latest IoT technologies. Precision, attention to detail and elegance are the constants that have always been handed down from project to project and contribute to the creation of collections that are innovative in style and technology.

Designers

From the joint work of Franco Bettonica and Mario Melocchi come innovations that mark the history of lighting such as Cuboluce, Gradi, Tenso and TensoClic.
Luta Bettonica, artistic director, designs products such as Convivio, Assolo, Acqua and creates the collection dedicated to art involving the sculptor Christiane Beer.

In 2018 Cini&Nils avails itself of a new synergic collaboration, the architect Alessandro Scandurra SSA and in 2020 of the architect Giancarlo Leone.

In 2025 Cini&Nils returns to Euroluce with designers from a new generation: Victoria Azadinho Bocconi, Karim Rashid and Giancarlo Alci.

Franco Bettonica

Franco Bettonica (Milan, 1927 - Milan, 1999), architect, successfully worked in construction, furniture and industrial design. Since 1969 he has collaborated with Cini&Nils as designer and creative director.

Mario Melocchi

Mario Melocchi (Parma, 1931 - Milan, 2013), in 1958 was among the first in Europe to devote himself to packaging design, from which he evolved, gradually approaching product design, to arrive there definitively after meeting Franco Bettonica.

Luta Bettonica

Luta Bettonica graduated in Industrial Design from the European Institute of Design in 1991 and started freelancing in the field of design. Franco Bettonica and Mario Melocchi were her first design partners. In 1996, together with architect Giancarlo Leone, he opened Studio Bettonica Leone in Milan and worked in design and architecture.

Giancarlo Leone

Giancarlo Leone, architect, was born in Catania and graduated from Milan Polytechnic. He began working between Catania and Milan with his family's ‘studio Architetti Leone’ firm, drawing up the General Regulatory Plans of several municipalities in Etna. In Milan, he worked on renovations, restoration and fittings. In 1996 he met Luta Bettonica on the occasion of the projects for the Roberto Baggio Cultural Centre in Thiene and the Fandango Restaurant in Milan, thanks to which he began the partnership that still today combines design creativity and attention to detail.

Alessandro Scandurra

Alessandro Scandurra founded Scandurra Studio Architettura - SSA in 2001 in Milan. A designer in Italy and abroad, he has realised headquarters for companies such as Philips Italia and Zurich Insurance Italia, Italy's first Smart District in Milan, spaces for commerce, hotels and interventions on historic buildings such as the Palladio Museum in Vicenza, of which he is curator. He was scientific director of the Portaluppi Foundation and is a member of the Landscape Commission of the City of Milan. He has received nominations and mentions for awards such as the Gold Medal, the Mies Van Der Rohe Award and the Compasso d'Oro. He has participated in the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Milan Triennale. He has taught at the Milan Polytechnic, and is currently a visiting professor at SUPSI, Switzerland.

Victoria Azadinho Bocconi

Victoria Azadinho Bocconi is a designer of Brazilian origin who grew up in Brescia, Italy. She studied Design Engine-ering and earned a Master’s in Product Design in Spain. At the core of her design philosophy lies the belief that design is a form of silent storytelling, capable of connecting directly with the emotions of those who experience it. “An object, if well designed, needs no words to be understood.”

Karim Rashid

Karim Rashid is one of the most visionary designers of his generation. A graduate in Industrial Design from Carleton University in Ottawa, with over 300 international awards, Rashid’s works are permanently di-splayed in 20 museums worldwide. A promoter of accessible design, he is also the author of several publications that portray design as a fundamental element of beauty.

Giancarlo Alci

Giancarlo Alci developed his education at the LABA in BreScia. An industrial designer with international experience, today Giancarlo Alci holds the position of Artistic Director: his main responsibilities include strategic research, creating new product concepts and supervising the overall brand image.

Storia

Known for its products that have made history, Cini&Nils, with 50 years of presence on the market, consolidates itself as a reference point in the field of high-end decorative and technical lighting.

1968

Forbici e apribuste

1969

Collezione da bar

1972

Olio+aceto, sale+pepe

1972

Cuboluce

1973

Cubobar

1975

Posacenere nautio

1990

Gradi

1994

Tenso

2015

Acqua

2023

Sottile

2023

Flip

2025

Minima

Cini&Nils was founded in 1969 by Mario Melocchi and Franco Bettonica. The two designers felt the need to propose their designs directly to users. Various objects came to life, many of which were acquired by the MoMA in New York, such as the Bar, Table and Desk collections, the Revolving Magazine Holder, the Cubobar and the Game Table. In 1972, from an idea by Franco Bettonica, Cuboluce was born, a link between objects and lighting fixtures and the progenitor of a new generation of products that marked Cini&Nils' entry into the field of lighting.

This was followed by Gradi, whose illuminating body is made up of a very small enamelled glass cylinder, Tenso 2500W, the first 230V cable system, miniTenso, the smallest 230V cable system with a spacing of only 15 cm, and many other innovations.

Light affects our quality of life and technological opportunities bring us closer to it in new ways.

The latest generation of Cini&Nils products are interconnected to the most popular smart devices. Variable lighting scenarios and wireless interactions are part of the new everyday life that Cini&Nils proposes. The choice of components aims at human well-being and the R&D laboratory analyses, selects and proposes only the best technologies.

Through constant laboratory tests, it verifies the absence of flickering phenomena to avoid optical stress and discomfort. With its selected offerings, it ensures natural respect for colour perception and correct ambient lighting. The functional, perceptive and connective aspects of light are an integral part of Cini&Nils designs and proposals.

Made in Italy

The company's mission, since its origin, has been to aim at the excellence of the Made in Italy product.

The close relationship with the best Italian craftsmen has contributed to the creation of the qualitative excellence that distinguishes the exclusivity of the product. The sharing of experience, collaboration and the search for the best solutions, to achieve ever new goals, feed the production know-how acquired over fifty years of experience.

Each collection is therefore born from expert hands and the use of the most avant-garde machinery to form a completed work made up of details and individual elements that are an expression of the culture of high Italian craftsmanship. At the end of each production process, each lamp passes rigorous quality controls to guarantee excellence and high performance.