The world of craftsmanshipThere 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.
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.
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
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
It was by working terracotta at his father’s company, a small factory in Sant’Agnello producing bricks since the 16th cen- tury, that Marcello Aversa discovered his passion for Nativi- ty scenes and began creating small masterworks: by using a stick and a pin, he moulds his terracotta figurines ranging from 10 cm to the amazing […]
Sorrento (NA)
Folk Traditions
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
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
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
There is mastery, passion and love in the sculptures made by Ulderico Pinfildi, a great master of the Nativity scene art. Raised in his family’s workshop, he believes that this art runs in his DNA. His home-workshop oozes care for de- tails and finishing touches and the atmosphere of a world in which the Neapolitan […]
Napoli
Folk Traditions
Diego Armando Maradona, Totò, Pulcinella, ethereal angels and reverent Magi. You feel watched by a thousand eyes and engulfed in the Neapolitan spirit the moment you step in- side Marco Ferrigno’s shop. The mastery and love of the art of Neapolitan Nativity scene-making is a legacy of his father Giuseppe on which, however, Marco has […]
Napoli
Folk Traditions
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
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
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
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)