Luigi Massucci (1877-1953) is remembered as a good-humored, kindly man, fond of jokes and parties. He was an artisan, a man who could create practical and useful objects and also ones that were simply magically beautiful, or something between the two.
He was born in Italy and served an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. He brought his family to Tompkins County in 1910. At first he worked for the salt company at Portland Point as a maker and mender of tools. From 1928 to 1934, he worked at the E.G. Holmes Machine Shop on West State Street in Ithaca in much the same role, though he also made ornamental iron fences and gates. In 1934, he went into business for himself with a workshop next to his home at 313 N. Meadow St. His steady customers were the several Italian stonemasons who were working in Ithaca at that time.

He and his wife, Filomena, had six children, and he was a multi-talented man; many of the things used in the household from shoes to kitchen tools and musical instruments were made by him. Some of the best examples of his sculptured iron work were made for his children's homes. 

Massucci is said to have believed in snakes as protective guardians and featured them in many of his works including a set of stair railings for his daughter's house. Patiently detailed leaves and fruits adorn intricately wrought stems and trunks in functional pieces such as lamps, coat racks, and candle holders. This Garden of Eden Lamp with a cherry tree and snake is one of his largest and finest pieces and was donated to the DeWitt Historical Society, now The History Center in Tompkins County, by members of the Massucci family.