Laura Morelli - Made in Italy: A Shoppers Guide to Italys Best Artisanal Traditions, from Murano Glass to Ceramics, Jewelry, Leather Goods, and More

Copyright 2019 Laura Morelli

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published in the United States of America .

LAURA MORELLIS AUTHENTIC ARTS

ISBNs: 978-1-942467-21-2 audio, 978-1-942467-22-9 mobi,
978-1-942467-23-6 epub, 978-1-942467-24-3 paperback

Graphic Design: Shannon Bodie, Bookwise Design

Made in Italy: A Shoppers Guide to Italys Best Artisanal Traditions, from Murano Glass to Ceramics, Jewelry, Leather Goods, and More

By Laura Morelli, Authentic Arts Publishing, Third Edition

Image Credits:

COVER: Laura Morelli. TITLE PAGE: Malgorzata Kistryn via Depositphotos. ABOUT THE THIRD EDITION: ludovic CC via Flickr. THE SPIRIT OF TRADITION: Piermarco CC via Flickr; kn via Shutterstock; Nordic Photos via Shutterstock; Pixachi via iStockphoto. CHAPTER 1: Scott Ashkenaz CC via Flickr; CC via Flickr; cristian CC via Flickr; jurra8 via Shutterstock; doroth via Fotolia; haveseen via iStockphoto; Hemis via Superstock; AndyMagee via iStockphoto; ClaudioVentrella via iStockphoto; Laura Morelli; Courtesy StufArte; Courtesy Dolfi Ortisei. CHAPTER 2: Courtesy DiManoInMano; ArtBoyMB via iStockphoto; Courtesy Museo Archeologico della Valchiavenna; Giorgio Rodano CC via Flickr; Silvia Benedet CC via Flickr; Dave Cristoff via iStockphoto; Flavio Vallenari via iStock; Flavio Vallenari via iStock. CHAPTER 3: Anerix via iStockphoto; Laura Rainis; siberianwarcat via iStockphoto; Laura Morelli; Malgorzata_Kistryn via Depositphotos; AvalancheZ via CStock; Laura Morelli; Giuseppe Moscato CC via Flickr. CHAPTER 4: La Paranza del Greco CC via Flickr; Wendy Kaveney via Fotolia; Antonio Manfredonio CC via Flickr; Giovanni CC via Flickr; Courtesy Giuseppe Fasano; lauradiblase via iStockphoto; Laura Morelli; Dennis Jarvis CC via Flickr. CHAPTER 5: Courtesy sardegnaturismo; Laura Morelli; johncopland via iStockphoto; ilaria corda CC via Flickr; giofri958 CC via iStockphoto; Nicolas vadilonga CC via Flickr; Laura Morelli; Courtesy Platimiro Fiorenza; Stefano Mortellaro CC via Flickr; Missuale CC via Flickr; Luisa CC via Flickr. AUTHOR PHOTO: Sarah DeShaw. BACK COVER: Gudrun Muenz via Shutterstock.

Contents

FREE DOWNLOAD

Download your free copy of the companion guide, Artisans of Italy , with up-to-date listings of my personally recommended artisans and shops.

Visit www.LauraMorelli.com/Italy-ReaderGift to get started.

About the Third Edition

S ince my initial research for the first edition of Made in Italy back in the late 1990s, my inbox has been flooded. Youve shared your stories, recommended artisans and shops youve discovered, and sent me great pictures. I love hearing from you!

As our world becomes increasingly homogenized with mega-stores, corporate chains, and mass production, I think we are hungry for unique, handmade items, and a chance to make a connection with real people when we travel. In Italy, we increasingly seek immersive activities, from stuffing ravioli with pecorino to making leather bookmarks.

While Ive updated this guidebook for the third time, Ive been amazed how many things in Italy have changed in recent years. Unfortunately, some artisans have succumbed to the economic pressures of our times. We live in an environment where customers want immediate gratification; it can be difficult to justify time and value for objects that require so many hours of labor. It is particularly heart-wrenching to watch multigenerational enterprises close their doors.

The good news is that many of the longstanding artisanal enterprises still thrive. Also, some new artisans have appeared on the scene. In order to keep abreast of these inevitable changes, I have pulled the listings section into a separate ebook, which you can download free at www.LauraMorelli.com/Italy-ReaderGift . My goal is to keep the ebook companion guide as up to date as possible to ensure the best possible travel and shopping experience for you.

Italy still possesses an astonishing number of world-class craftspeople and artisanal traditions. Thousands of specialists carry on the important job of preserving Italys artisanal patrimony, from Murano glass to Florentine leather. Italian artisanal tradition is all about legacy, quality, pride, workmanship, and history, what I call would call a spirit of tradition that, thankfully, endures.

The Spirit of Tradition

M y small village outside Milan has no movie theater and no convenience stores, but its got an artisan who turns out the most stunning handcrafted cellos youll ever see. Tucked into a cobblestone alley off the main street, his humble studio is a mosaic of sawdust, hand tools, strings, and planks of wood waiting to be turned into masterpieces of song.

The poetry of the gestures of manual labor, repeated day after day, year after year, century after century, is the essence of European life and tradition. For international visitors, the image of the Old World artisan laboring on a unique, handmade item remains imprinted on the memory long after the return home. From supple leather bags to blown glass, colorful ceramics, stunning wrought iron furniture, finely crafted wood, and, of course, scrumptious food, Italy means quality goods and time-honored workmanship.

I want to take you on a journey. Its a journey to see an 88-year-old woman in a Sardinian village whose able hands swiftly work a wooden hand loom her grandmother taught her to use when she was just five. Its a journey to an Umbrian hill town to watch an artisan paint a picture of a rabbit on a terra-cotta pot, while drawing inspiration from a 500-year-old ceramic fragment at his side. Its a journey to the gastronomic mecca of Parma, to watch an inspector poke an aging ham hock with a horse-bone needle, and draw it under his nose to rate its quality compared to thousands of similar specimens he has tested over four decades.

Across Italy, handcrafted objects, or prodotti artigianali , emerge from humble workshops, artisan studios, and tidy homes of countless Italian towns and villages. Italian craftspeople sustain a passion for traditional occupations that is unrivaled in the Old World. From wrought iron to delicate embroidery, crisp table linens, colored glass, and woodcarving, they bring to life the same forms that captivated their ancient ancestors. That pride in workmanship, local tradition, and skill has been passed down through generations, and still shines through the shop windows lining cobblestone streets on this sun-filled peninsula where time seems to stand still.

Why I Wrote This Book