Maria Cristina Mariani Dameno (1924-2020) - better known as Cini Boeri - was a leading Italian architect and designer, the mother of the internationally renowned architect Stefano Boeri.

She graduated in architecture in 1951 from the Politecnico University in Milan. After a short experience with Gio Ponti—a famous master of Italian design and architecture—she started to collaborate with Marco Zanuso, another acclaimed architect and designer.

In 1963 she opened her own studio in Milan focusing on architecture, interior, and exhibit design both in Italy and abroad. She always gave a great care to the psychological relation between human being and environment developing uncommon and innovative design solutions.

During her career, she designed some furniture pieces that became world classics such as the charming Ghost Chair (Fiam Italia, 1987), made of a single glass sheet, cut and bent to form simultaneously the seat, the armrests, and the backrest.
From 1981 to 1983 she taught architectural planning and industrial design at the Politecnico University in Milan. She gave conferences and lectures in Brazil, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the U.S.A.

Honorary Member of ADI (Industrial Design Association) since 2012. Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic—the highest ranking honor in Italy—since 2011. She received major recognitions including the Compasso d’Oro award for Strips upholstered series in 1979, and the Compasso d’Oro Lifetime Achievement award in 2011.

Her work has been exhibited in some of the most important museums in the world including the Louvre in Paris, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York, and Triennale in Milan.