Carlo Scarpa was an Italian architect and designer whose enigmatic works combined the influences of Venetian architecture, Japanese aesthetics, and Modernism. Scarpa’s compelling furniture, housewares, and buildings, evinced his myriad tastes and interest in history. “If the architecture is any good, a person who looks and listens will feel its good effects without noticing,” he once stated. Born on June 2, 1906 in Venice, Italy, he went on to study architecture and design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Venice. Despite apprenticing with the architect Francesco Rinaldo and his friendship with Louis Kahn, Scarpa was never granted the title of architect. This was entirely due to his refusal to take the professional exam given by the Italian government, because of this he forced to have a licensed architect on hand for his projects. Scarpa’s notable structures include the Olivetti Showroom in Venice (1958), the Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona (1956–1964), and the Brion Tomb and Sanctuary in San Vito (1969­–1978). The architect died on November 28, 1978 in Sendai, Japan. He is famously buried standing up and wrapped in linen, in the tradition of medieval knights.