Born in Lima, Peru, to an Italian family in 1931. He moved to Italy after the war where he trained as a painter studying with Sironi. In 1949 he enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture, graduating in 1959 and became assistant to both Gio Ponti and Carlo De Darli. Throughout the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, Agnoli designed prolifically in the fields of furniture and lighting, creating designs with among others, Arflex, Cinova, Lema, Matteo Grassi, Molteni, Montina, Oluce, Pierantonio Bonacina, Poltrona Frau, Schiffini, and Ycami. Several times recommended for the Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass) Award, in 1986 he won the gold medal at the Neocon in Chicago. Some of his pieces are kept in the permanent collection of the MoMa in New York.