Domenico Parisi, nicknamed Ico, was born in Palermo in 1916 to Sicilian parents who were living in the Piedmont region. In 1925 the Parisi family moved to Como where Ico earned his diploma as a building inspector in 1936 and completed an apprenticeship at Studio Terragni. The studio gave him the opportunity to get to know and interact with prominent figures of Como's architecture and art world such as Cattaneo, Lingeri, Radice, Rho, Persico and Sartoris. Passionate about cinema and photography, at Studio Terragni's request he photographed the Casa del Fascio. Discharged from the front in 1943, he returned to Como and resumed his design activity, mainly working on individual furnishings, exhibition stands and interior architecture. He collaborated with Luisa Aiani and soon married her in 1947. Together they opened the studio La Ruota, a place of design but also a place of art, exhibitions and culture.Parisi's work became more and more prolific from the 1950s, in both the architectural and design fields.