Words By Allegra Salvadori

It began with a sketch. In 2002, Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro envisioned a series of luminous totems—part memory, part myth—for the legendary glassmakers of VENINI. But the complexity of his idea, where sculptural signs would dance across fragile glass, was simply ahead of its time. The project was shelved, its beauty deferred.

Now, 23 years later, the Stele collection has finally stepped into the light.

Unveiled during Milan Design Week 2025 in collaboration with Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro, Stele I is the first of three designs to be brought to life. Produced in a limited edition of 100, it comes in both floor (180 cm) and table (60 cm) versions—each one a poetic balance of opposites: the heft of bronze and the weightlessness of sandblasted glass, the permanence of sculpture and the ephemerality of light.

The design draws from ancient votive columns, reimagined through a contemporary lens. Inside, a hidden LED system casts a soft, upward glow—subtle, reverent, architectural. Outside, Pomodoro’s distinctive language—normally etched in monumental bronze—is translated into delicate transparency.

It’s a technical feat that only VENINI could accomplish. Marrying avant-garde vision with age-old Murano artistry, the house pushed glassmaking to its limits, transforming complexity into clarity, delay into timelessness.

Presented at both the brand’s Via Montenapoleone boutique and Euroluce 2025, Stele I is more than a lamp. It is the resurrection of an idea, a sculpture of light, a testament to the power of patience—and to the enduring magic that happens when art and craft speak the same language.