Secondary Architecture

Giuseppe Guzzi/Marcello Nizzoli 1950-1952 "Agip" neon sign and petrol pump "Aerial" with Agip dog, "Germania" version, 1951-52 Sign illuminated on the interior, acrylic glass relief, pained on the inside 217.5 cm x 92.6 cm Mast made of structural steel: H 582 cm, inner ø (tapers three times) 15.9 – 7 cm Manufacturer: Lamperti, Ora, Trent, for, among others: Agip, San Donato, Italy "Nizzoli" electro-mechanical petrol pump, 1950-52 Enameled sheet metal casing Mechanical meter, electro-hydraulic pump 126 x 70 x 43 cm Manufacturer: SNAM, S.p.A., Talamona; later Nuova Pignone S.p.A., Florence: for Agip, as listed above.

The neon sign and petrol pump were included in the "Secondary Architecture/Street furniture" department and both date from the early 1950s. They are significant symbols of this era; can anyone forget those early journeys along Italy's arterial roads, dominated as they were by the six-legged dog? Agip put a tremendous amount of effort into its search for these exhibits and in 1983 came across the petrol pump in Lugano and the neon sign in the Bavarian town of Landau. The neon sign boasts very respectable dimensions: two meters high and one meter wide and is attached to an almost six meter-high mast. It makes drivers aware both of the petrol station itself and the brand on sale there. The six-legged dog, with flames shooting from its mouth, which the company introduced as its logo in the early 1950s, in a drive to re-vamp its brand and image, is based on a poster design by Giuseppe Guzzi. This particular neon sign was in use between 1952 and 1978. The three-dimensional dog is characteristic of the plastic sign. Marcello Nizzoli, Italy's groundbreaking designer, came up with the petrol pump for Agip in an aim to create for the first time a standard look for the various pumps in use. Technical progress with automatic return signaled the end of this particular version in the mid-1960s. Both objects were grouped together on a base plate covered in stainless steel as part of a major series of donations by Agip became part of the collection in 1984. Together with neon signs from various other companies that also form part of the "Secondary Architecture" section they document a symbol that now determines and dominates our cities at nighttime and without which, as a point of orientation, it is difficult to imagine our cities at the end of the 20th century. At the same time both objects are themselves noteworthy for the ingenious idea on the part of the designer and the succinctness of the design.