N°2 | 2025 26 letters for the History of lighting in the 19th century

With an excursion inspired by the letters of the alphabet, taken in order, we have wished to deal with the history of lighting in a dynamic manner, without elaborating a consequential discourse, which might have become boring. Each letter of the alphabet has given rise to a theme strictly linked to the history of lighting in the 19^th century or to the use of cast iron in the field of public illumination.

This was a particularly important period of history, marked by many changes: the advent of industrialization, of gas and then of electrical energy, and the birth of the applied arts (now defined with the more modern term “design”). Innovation was in the avant-garde and all the stimuli it produced have, to some degree, found space in our narration, which has sought to bring these together while remaining as interesting as possible.