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One of the
delights of living in Italy is having creative craftsmen and
artisans close to hand.
Each month we will feature artisans who work with different
materials and produce unique objects. Interested in visiting
their workshops or having a tailor-made itinerary for a certain
area of Italy? Contact
macryan@alice.it .
Feel free to contact these artisans directly and don’t forget
to tell them that you learned about their work on Elegant
Etruria.
Desks made to Order, Vetralla, Lazio
Flavio Tolo has one of the world’s most stressful jobs: during
the week he is behind the wheel of a city bus plowing through
Rome traffic. On weekends instead he relaxes in his country
workshop, creating objects in wood such as this Pinocchio
sculpture or specially crafted desks like this one he made
for his family’s bookshop located in Vetralla. A well rounded
craftsman, Flavio also creates lead soldiers which fill a show
window at the bookshop. Contact
www.libridinatura.it
Lute and Violin maker , Florence,
Tuscany
In Florence’s tiniest shop just around the corner from the
Uffizi Galleries, a surprising encounter: an American woman
originally from Chicago, who has been creating magnificent
violins and violas for top musicians since 1979. If you were
watching the Inauguration Ceremony of President Obama on
Janurary 20th, you saw one of Jamie Lazzara’s
perfectly crafted instruments being played in near zero
temperatures by Itzhak Perlman.
Contact:
jmlazzara@aol.com
Etruscan Gold Jewelery
Torgiano,
Umbria
Since the rediscovery of Etruscan art in the 1840's, people
have admired the design, detail and workmanship of Etruscan
jewelry. The mysterious art of granulation, soldering tiny
spheres of gold in an invisible way on to a thin foil to form
the structure of a jewel, is alive and well and being
practiced in Umbria by goldsmith Ulderico Pettorossi.
After years of study, trial and error Ulderico’s passionate
interest in Etruscan art has led him to create works of art
of extreme complexity such as the magnificent brooches,
necklaces, and earrings like this whose original is in the
Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Collectors snap up his reproductions of Etruscan gold objects
which often take years to produce and are priced from 3,000 to
8,000 euro. www.orodeglietruschi.eu
Mosaic Masterpieces Rome, Lazio
From her studio just south of Rome Sabrina DeAngelis designs
and creates mosaics on commission for churches, private homes
and interior decorators . These mosaic masterpieces range from
tiny roses, decorative panels and inserts on tables to complete
pavements and huge Byzantine style saints and religious
figures. Sabrina’s many years of hands-on study with master
craftsmen in the shadow of St. Peter’s cupola make her one
of the top mosaic artists in Italy today. Her eclectic
creations include pavement mosaics for a Saudi Arabian
embassy, saints’ portraits for the Cathedral of Panama City and
restoration of mosaics at Roman and Etruscan sites. Sabrina_deangelis@yahoo.it
Laura’s Jewels Vetralla, Lazio
 Laura
Furlan, originally from Vittorio Veneto in northern Italy,
spent many years as a stylist and instructor of decorative
arts. Officially retired since her move to Vetralla, she can
still be coaxed into creating unique jewellery using semi
precious hard stones such as agate, Carniola, river pearls and
Venetian glass beads and funky handbags .
“I refuse to work with deadlines”, she says,” for I must
wait for inspiration from the stones and other materials . When
possible I like to meet the client personally, since I create
each piece specifically for that person.”
Her workshop, a huge loft above the main piazza in
Vetralla’s historic center , is a creative atelier from which
the results pour out to every corner of her home: decoupage
chairs and furniture, colourful table settings, to stylish
outfits made to order and shipped to an affectionate clientele
overseas, especially in England and Japan .
laurafurlan@yahoo.it |
