Artigianato e Palazzo | XXVI Edition

Medal of the President of the Republic of Italy
Fiorino d’Oro della Città di Firenze
MAM Prize (Maestro d’Arte e Mestiere) Supporter of Artistic Trades

Under the aegis of the

Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities | Opificio delle Pietre Dure
Ministry for Economic Development

Tuscany Region | Metropolitan City of Florence | Municipality of Florence | Municipality of Bagno a Ripoli

Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi | Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze

ADSI Association Dimore Storiche Italiane | Friends of Florence | Cultural Association Città Nascosta
Associazione Giardino Corsini

17/18/19/20 SEPTEMBER 2020

Taking place this year from Thursday, 17 September to Sunday, 20 September will be the 26th ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO botteghe artigiane e loro committenze exhibition. The event, held in the 16th-century Giardino Corsini, will bring to Florence a new selection of 90 representatives of the best in master craftsmanship, with major focus on the new generations, that will include potters, glass engravers, silver embossers and goldsmiths, carvers, restorers, string instrument makers, tailors, semi-previous stone and wood inlayers, wickerworkers, designers and much more.

For four days, potters, glass engravers, silver embossers and goldsmiths, carvers, restorers, string instrument makers, tailors, semi-precious stone and wood inlayers, wickerworkers, designers and many more will interact with visitors as they work in their small workshops, recreated for the occasion in the orangerie and the grounds of the formal Italian-style gardens.

“At a time in which there is a trend to return production to Italy to take advantage of its local expertise, this sector would seem even more to be a major opportunity for growth and innovation,” say Giorgiana Corsini and Neri Torrigiani. “Because, if on the one hand we have understood that our activities will be increasingly tied to digital technologies, on the other it remains the case that the country’s capital depends on its artisan skills which unite manual dexterity, talent and creativity, and promote the cultural wealth of our regions,” they conclude.

It represents a diversified, select group promoted by the Associazione Culturale Giardino Corsini as part of a project by Giorgiana Corsini and Neri Torrigiani—an opportunity to also reflect on and share new styles that interpret the constantly-evolving relationship between tradition and innovation, and handcrafts and technology—by bringing together expert artisans who reveal their secrets as they work in their small studio spaces created for the occasion in the orangerie and the grounds of the formal Italian-style gardens.

This Florentine event also offers a full programme of activities such as:

FUNDRAISING “GIAMBOLOGNA AND MORGANA LE FAY”: the new fund-raising drive in support of the arts and culture, directed towards private individuals and companies. Initially, the goal was to reproduce the statue of Morgan Le Fay by hand and house it in the space for which it was designed. But, subsequently, it was decided to restore the entire “Fonte della Fata Morgana” (“Fountain of Morgan Le Fay”) complex—also known locally as the “Casina delle Fate” (“Little Fairy House”)—which was built by Bernardo Vecchietti in the second half of the 16th century inside the grounds of Villa Il Riposo, his summer home in the heart of the Chianti area in the foothills of Fattucchia.

Catalogue 2020

Contribute to the fundraising

This year, ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO will host two exhibitions within the impressive Loggia del Buontalenti that frames Palazzo Corsini.Inclusion and liberation are the themes of the artisan workshops of the Comunità di San Patrignano, a drug rehabilitation community, which will present a progression involving decoration and a number of hand-crafted items inspired by sustainability, with an exhibition of art wallpaper, 6 metres tall, created by hand and shown under the Loggia del Buontalenti. The exhibition will present the experience of the Decoration Workshop at San Patrignano which, founded in the late 1970s, over the years has seen the involvement of leading interior designers.Sharing and belonging are the concepts behind the projectCITYNG by the young Florentine craftsman-designer Cosimo De Vita, which was selected by ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO for its BLOGS& CRAFTS section. Born in Florence where he lives and works and active in numerous international exhibitions, Cosimo De Vita will be showing 16 large-scale seats portraying iconic cultural sites from around the world, created in collaboration with the Savio Firmino company.

Salva

BLOGS & CRAFTS: also repeated in this year’s edition is the BLOGS&CRAFTS competition founded by Giorgiana Corsini and Neri Torrigiani to promote the creativity of young people by combining “knowing how” with “knowing how to communicate”. The ten under-35 winning artisans, chosen from among the best talents for their capacity to innovate tradition with state-of-the-art techniques, will be guests at the event and will work and exhibit their creations in a Limonaia (orangerie) in the Giardino Corsini. At the same time, their works will be documented through live blogging by 10 of the best bloggers – experts on the themes of crafts, lifestyle, fashion, tourism – who will be offered accommodation during their stay in Florence by Starhotels, The Student Hotel and a dinner by OOO.

Salva

FAMILY RECIPES: a daily afternoon event that combines contemporary food culture with the traditional flavours and recipes of the past through book presentations, live cooking and tastings.

The Exhibition will also assign the Premio Perseo award to the exhibitor that the public liked best; and the Premio del Comitato Promotore (Promotion Committee Prize) will be awarded for the most interesting stand, and its owner will win a free stand for the 2021 edition of the Exhibition.

“ARTIGIANATO E PALAZZO: GIAMBOLOGNA AND MORGANA LE FAY” is presented with the fundamental contribution of Fondazione CR Firenze and supported by Devon&Devon, The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, Fondazione Ferragamo, B&C Speakers, Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte e Michelangelo Foundation, in collaboration with Riccardo Barthel, OOO, The Student Hotel. Thanks to Intesa Sanpaolo.