LIBERTY STYLE: ART NOUVEAU IN MUGELLO

Two centuries ago Chini Manufacturing was founded in Mugello. It is an excellent example of artistic craftsmanship in the production of ceramics.

At the beginning of the 19th century the head of the Chini family, Piero Alessio Chini, a decorator, passed down his passion for the arts to his children and nephews, who, from simple apprentices soon became eclectic, creative and able artists.

One of the family's most prominent figures was definitely Galileo Chini who, along with his cousin Chino Chini, founded the "San Lorenzo Furnace" manufacturing in 1906, in Borgo San Lorenzo. They produced ceramics and glass works that immediately gained success. At the beginning of the 20th century Galileo Chini became one of the major representatives of Liberty ( Art Nouveau in Italian ) in Italy and by 1906 his fame as an artist had reached the far east. In fact, he left for Bangkok to paint the walls the Palace of the Throne with frescoes.
Next, the manufacturing company dressed the thermal spa in Salsomaggiore "Lorenzo Berzieri" in grès ceramic, and Galileo Chini, along with other artists of the period, painted a fresco on a part of it. From 1925 on Chini Manufacturing took part in a number of national and international expositions in which the artwork of Galileo Chini, by this time a renowned decorator and able craftsman, was very much appreciated and valued.
The manufacturing company continued to produce works of great value until 1943 when, following the terrible bombing of Borgo San Lorenzo, which caused extensive damage and many victims, the damage to the company was so great that it could not continue to produce as it once had.
Today we can admire what the descents of Pietro Alessio Chini have created and what time has preserved in the Chini Ceramic Museum in Borgo San Lorenzo, as well as in many buildings all over Italy and the world.

Download here the brochure of Borgo San Lorenzo Liberty Itinerary