Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, was born in 1871 in Granada, Spain, to a renowned family of artists. At age three, orphaned by his father, he moved with his family to Paris and then arrived in Venice. In the magic and charm of the city's past in the Venetian Lagoon, Fortuny found inspiration. Together with Henriette Negrin, his wife and collaborator, they develop designs in their studio and home in Venice, the Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei, now a museum and part of Fondazione Musei di Civici Venezia. In 1921, they founded the factory at Giudecca, which would open its doors in the summer of 1922, built on the grounds of an old convent. How it works and what happens inside the production site still remains a secret, as per the founder's wishes. From the furniture to the iconic Knossos, the silk scarf that debuted in Paris in 1906. From the dresses worn by Eleonora Duse and Isadora Duncan in the 1920s to the performing arts and studies for theatrical set design. Passionate artist and inventor Fortuny registered many patents, including those for his own paints, colors, brushes and machinery. In 1927 New York interior designer Elsie McNeill became his faithful friend and sole distributor, and then ran the company for more than forty years. In the late 1980s the countess convinced her confidant Maged Riad to take the helm of Fortuny. Her sons Riad, Mickey and Maury are the present.