Alessandro Cruto was an Italian inventor, born in the town of Piossasco, near Turin, who created an early incandescent light bulb.

[1] In 1872 he opened a small workshop in his home village where he conducted tests on the production of pure carbon from ethylene.

His success was repeated at the International Turin Expo of 1884 to the extent that he sold his project in France, Switzerland, Cuba and United States.

Eventually, due to strong disagreements with the factory new management, he resigned in order to pursue his favorite activity as an inventor.

He continued his experiments on the accumulation of atmospheric energy and the invention of a toy called mosca elettrica ("electrical fly").