History

At the end of Summer, every year in Rione district in Città di Castello, a special event tell us the history and cleverness of joiner’s open-air workshops during the 19th and 20th centuries, revoking atmosphere and folklore. After Italian Reunion joiners trade became an industry when some open-minded benefactors as Barons Leopoldo and Alice Franchetti together with public institutions were searching for the skilled of this art keepers, an art orally transmitted in time from shop to shop. The joiners established in 1909 the Scuola Operaia, a peculiar school where the best craftsmen were educated in order to face the passage from artisanat to industry. Those years saw the birth of G. Bufalini’s Centro di Formazione – another one school that is still giving professional training in design and technical skill as well.

In the same years some local entrepre-neurs organized and managed the busi-ness, defining the wood working process as a real production line, including cloth-ing, furniture decoration, repairing and antiques.
So, a new style was born called poor – stile Povero – as a peculiar feature of this area not only sold to rich families but also to peasants on the outskirts. To-day richness of models and distinctive design are giving the flexibility and a modern reliability to single pieces or to global furnishing solutions. An inspiring influence came from Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera, the current building of Pinacotheca, restored by wood craftsman E. Volpi in 1912 as a museum for cabinet makers’ objects. He refused to produce old looking hand made pieces so the recovery and reutilization became his feature. This peculiar art faced several fashions and styles and Città di Castello became a landmark in central Italy thanks to annual Italians furniture makers Exhibition promoted by craftsmen of SMAI. Founded in 1975, this consortium supported by public institutions and the local Bank Cassa di Risparmio, gathers 60 artisans and proposes a permanent exhi-bition of his production.

Last stop in this long trip is L’arte è mobile that follows memories, gives a new glimpse on Altotiberino peculiar furniture production rediscovering its historical roots and protagonists.