Think of Italian artisans and you conjure up images of age-old skills passed down from father to son in workshops still fitted out with traditional tools. Though diminishing in number, many of these “botteghe†have indeed survived and continue to produce time-honoured objects with consummate expertise.
But that’s only part of the picture. For more colourful examples of Italian creative flair try dropping in on some of the independent craftspeople whose little stores revolve around the workbench on which punchy ideas are invested with form. These artisans tend to be self-taught, which usually means they view tradition as a resource, but not a straitjacket.
Take the case of leather goods, for example. In Florence, Paolo Carandini makes exquisitely tooled boxes of all shapes and sizes, photo frames, zippered pencil bags, handbags and document folders in far-from-somnolent shades of orange, yellow, red and black from his workshop in Via de’ Macci 73 (tel. 055 245397), just west of Piazza Santa Croce.
“Florence is a city that can lull you to sleepâ€, he declares. “For years I worked with a company that made fine quality leather ware of the sort beloved by tourists. Everything was dark brown or green, embossed with the gold-leaf fleur-de-lys that is the emblem of Florence. Business was good, but design-wise it was stultifyingâ€.
He left to start up his own business in 1991, selling at trade fairs and supplying to retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and Nieman Marcus in the USA, and Cassegrain in Paris. “After a while I felt I needed more interaction with my customers. Their requirements are often a source of inspirationâ€, he declares, “so in 1999 I opened up this workshop and store, in a district where there are still plenty of active craftsmenâ€.
Since working on his own, Carandini has returned to the past, but with critical detachment. He uses naturally dyed leathers, which he burnishes for sheen, rather than resorting to wax. He has also revived the use of parchment, which is made from goat’s skin and requires longer production times and greater skill.
Rodolfo Cilento was born in Calabria, worked as a builder in Sicily and spent years in Rome before moving to the southern Tuscan hilltop town of Pitigliano to set up shop as a leather worker. At his Bottega Artigiana in via Roma 87 (tel 0564 616218) you can see a great pile of the colourful hides he turns into bags and belts of great elegance and originality.
He sources his raw materials from Santa Croce sull’Arno near Pisa, Italy’s foremost centre for leather tanning. “Often they’re remainders from orders they received from major fashion houses. When something catches my eye, it usually inspires me to come up with new designs. You can’t do things with passion if you keep repeating yourselfâ€.
Linear forms and vibrant colors also underlie the success of the leather goods made by Gerardo Sannino in Rome. The bags hanging on rails in Fuoco Aria Acqua, his shop in via di Ripetta 28, just off Piazza del Popolo, have the immediate, fresh appeal of ripe cherries in early summer www.fuocoariaacqua.com. The shapes are both functional and fun; the colours so cheering and ingeniously matched that they draw admiring smiles in the street. What’s more, they are reasonably priced.
Sannino has his workshop and another sales outlet in via A. de Gaspari, a stone’s throw from St. Peter’s. Down in the basement he keeps bundles of hides that include fuchsia pinks, turquoises, mauves and greens as well as some bizarre printed leathers.
“I started out in my early twenties, following a sort of hippy whim. I didn’t have any proper training, so I’ve made plenty of mistakes on the way. But I also think this lack of expertise gave me a particular freedom. To this day I start cutting and sewing, and the form seems to come of its own accord. Once I’ve got the theme right, I can produce all the colorful variationsâ€.
Like many of Italy’s new artisans, Sannino is little interested in fashion as such. Too frantic, too ephemeral, and nowadays too global. Instead he produces unconventional classics, with tangible enjoyment. And that’s part of the pleasure for the customer as well.
British-born Kate Singleton has lived in Italy for over 35 years, mostly working as an editor, writer and translator.
