Art and folklore. An all-Italian magic

There is no place in Italy that does not have its traditions, customs that often differ even within a few kilometres. This huge heritage that still lives on in festivals, celebrations, museums and craft shops.

Terracotta figurines, animations, backgrounds and large and small chests are used in cribs and nativity scenes from Naples to Genoa. Papier-mâché masks are made in Venice and Lecce, tin puppets are forged in Mascalucia in the province of Catania, while dolls are carved and hand-painted in Val Gardena.

Judith Sotriffer_12s

In Italy’s geography of custom-made popular traditional objects, those that tourists often perceive as iconic, precious souvenirs to take home – these are still made following ancient craft procedures.

Handcrafted in evocative historical workshops, they are the incredible artefacts of those craftsmen who exploit the secrets passed down by their ancestors, unique works in great demand all over the world.

Discover all craftsmanship Tradizione popolare

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Ca’ Macana

How can one not succumb to the charm of Venetian masks and to the world’s most elegant Carnival? For a taste of its atmosphere, visit the artisan atelier in Dorsoduro Ca’ Macana which, since 1984, a time of renaissance for the Venetian Carnival, has been creating traditional and artistic papier-mâché masks, entirely handmade by using […]

Venezia

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Teatro Agricolo

Since 1993, the Teatro Agricolo cultural association has dedicated itself to the creation of leather masks used for the theater, but also for television and cinema. Everything starts with a wooden form. Every detail, from the excellent leather, to the brass clasps, up to the choice of copper for framing the inside, ensures that the […]

Livorno

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Studio d’Arte di Marcello Aversa

Marcello Aversa’s passion for Neapolitan nativity scenes developed in the early eighties. At first, he adopted the traditional technique by using cork and wood, and then he found an outlet for his creativity in clay. He models his figurines in clay by using pins and little sticks, which look like finely carved sculptures. For some […]

Sorrento (NA)

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Franco Maritato Caratza

In Ottana, Franco Maritato, an expert carver, is a dedicated artist who creates traditional local carnival masks, the caratza, tangible manifestations of the ancient tales and myths. Creating a caratza requires inspiration and listening skills, because “the ancestors send the vision of a man or animal’s face, so that the sculptor was inspired to pick […]

Ottana (NU)

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Fratelli Napoli

The old shop of the Napoli brothers is located in the historic centre and represents a heritage of great historical and cultural importance for the area, because for four generations the craft “Puppeteer” has been handed down. Puppets, backdrops, weapons, jewelry and items used in the staging, everything is made in the workshop in Via […]

Catania

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

La Butteghetta Magica

The Butteghetta was established in 1830 in the historic center of Genoa, as a store that sold household items and cribs. Over the years it specialized in niche products and typical Ligurian items such as mortars in marble for pesto, wooden graters and also moulds for corzetti, the typical pasta of eastern Liguria. Here you […]

Genova

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Ulderico Pinfildi

Ulderico was born and raised in the family-run workshop and, thus, as he himself says, the art of nativity scene-making runs deep in his blood. His sculptures are imbued with artisan skill but also with passion and love of his craft which, like the creation of every real artist, bears the “sign of birthright”. This […]

Napoli

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Giuseppe e Marco Ferrigno

The artistry and love of the art of Neapolitan nativity scene-making has been handed down from father to son. Marco Ferrigno has inherited his father Giuseppe’s talent and skills, while cultivating his own style. In addition to the restoration of original eighteenth and nineteenth-century statuettes, Ferrigno creates objects in terracotta, wood and S. Leucio silk, […]

Napoli

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Judith Sotriffer

Judith Sotriffer makes old Val Gardena dolls: a tradition that was already going strong in the 1700s and disappeared in 1930. In Val Gardena the production of wooden toys is an established tradition. It is said that each family specialised in a toy. Judith’s father is a sculptor and carver of toys, but not dolls. […]

Ortisei (BZ)

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

La Bottega dei Mascareri

An artistic journey through the history of the Carnival of Venice and  of Commedia dell’Arte, but also worlds of fantasy. We are talking about  La Bottega dei Mascareri, the historic location on the Rialto Bridge and atelier on the nearby Calle dei Saoneri. Started in 1984 by Sergio Boldrin along with his brother Massimo, the […]

Venezia

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

La Scarabattola

The Scuotto brothers’ Scarabattola was founded in 1996 as an innovative business with two focuses: on the one hand, the production of figurines for cribs, individual pieces of the highest quality; on the other, constant artistic experimentation. The workshop, official supplier of the Giffoni Film Festival awards, has itself collected many awards and created prestigious […]

Napoli

Folk Traditions
Folk Traditions

Pupi Salamanca

Francesco Salamanca sells his creations and is renowned the world over, but probably the idea of becoming a master puppeteer came to him when he was a child, and collected empty tin cans between the market stalls to use them to learn the craft. The elderly puppeteer Emilio Musumeci helped him learn his technique and […]

Mascalucia (CT)