There are many excellent handicraft activities in Liguria
that have also attained great commercial success outside the region itself.
Ligurian artisans have always shown great skill in working local raw materials
(e.g., slate) or materials brought from far across the seas.
The working of filigree at Campoligure, the production of ceramicsat Albissola,
the glass-making at Altare, slate-working in the Fontanabuona Valley, the art of
weaving damask and velvet in Zoagli, and the production of lace in Chiavari are
centuries-old handicraft traditions that continue to create employment and are
by no means of secondary importance in the regional economy.
By contrast, other activities that were once very widespread are today on the
decline: these are jobs linked with rural culture, such as the production of
wicker-baskets, ladders and other everyday objects made with various materials.
Slate is one of the symbols of Liguria: slate-working has very ancient origins
and uses. In Roman times it was used for transporting food supplies, while in
mediaeval times it started to be used for the construction of roofs, vaults and
decorations on prestigious buildings such as the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and
the church of San Matteo in Genoa or the Abbey of San Fruttuoso in Camogli.
Ligurian slate has been in wide international demand in the twentieth century:
50% of current production is exported to the United States. The great natural
reserve of slate is situated in the Fontanabuona Valley: many of the quarries
are still being worked and there are also handicraft workshops and small
factories that depend on slate for a livelihood. The open-air slate museum has
many separate locations in various parts of the Fontanabuona Valley and the
Chiavari area.
The cloth-making tradition goes back to mediaeval times and was imported by
merchants returning from the east. Hand-woven silk thread was used to make
damasks and velvets. Since the sixteenth century, two places in particular have
distinguished themselves for their hand-woven textiles: Zoagli and Lorsica.
Zoagli was famous for its damasks, while Lorsica was also well-known for its
printed silks.
Ceramics production in Liguria goes back to the fifteenth century. In
the following century, the master workers of Albissola organized a local
corporation with its own statues and started making internationally famous
ceramics. Among the most popular objects were "laggioni", polychrome tiles used
for the floors and walls of the residences and chapels of the noble or wealthy.
Over the centuries, the forms and decorations of products have changed according
to artistic and cultural influences: while blue against a white background was
the dominant pattern in the fifteenth century, seventeenth-century tastes
preferred a new Chinese-style pattern, including landscapes and human figures.
The objects made in a style called "à taches noires" are very fine; the style
takes its name from the use of a very dark manganese varnish.
Decorations in which yellow was the dominant colour were typical in the
nineteenth century, while the twentieth century saw the development of designs
influenced by "Déco" culture and Futurist art.
Filigree-making goes back to the eighth century BC. It
was imported from Byzantium into Italy, particularly Venice and Genoa. The
capital city of Liguria was the major centre for the production of filigree
until 1884, when there was a cholera epidemic and the master-worker Antonio
Olivieri moved his workshop to Campo Ligure to avoid contagion: thirty more
master-workers followed his example, thus transforming Campo Ligure into the
national centre for filigree production.
The art of filigree consists of creating jewellery with fine strands of precious
metal that are woven by hand. You should really try to visit the filigree
museum, where you will find works of art from all over the world
Glass. Historical documents show that glass-making was developed in
Altare in the tenth century by eight families who came from Flanders. According
to tradition, the Benedictine monks of Bergeggi also knew the art of
glass-making: it was thanks to their teaching that the first workshops were
opened in the Savonese area.
In the fifteenth century, the corporation of master glassworkers allowed its
members to accept foreign commissions. In 1495, the University of Glass Making
was founded and statutes were created to govern the art.
The glassworkers of Altare work mainly on transparent pieces and white glass,
unlike the master glassmakers of Burano, who prefer colored glass. The museum,
which is currently housed in the oratory of San Sebastiano, is to be moved to a
new location in Villa Rosa.
