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In ancient times coral finds its popularity as an amulet, as evidenced especially by the classic "cornetto", Italian for "little horn" or "hornlet", an amulet worn to protect against the evil eye. It was believed also to have beneficial effects on female fertility and to protect children from harm. Widespread belief among the Romans, who used to pu...

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The production of hats in Biella is a tradition that dates back to 1700. As with textiles, this type of activity developed largely because of the mountainous location at the foot of the Alps, which precluded extensive crop cultivation, favouring the breeding and rearing of sheep for wool and textiles. Thus it is no coincidence that hat factories we...

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In the summer of 1325, the process for the canonisation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino took place in some towns in the Marche. 371 witnesses from various socila backgrounds were invited to testify in the presence of the papal legates, who were to receive news and testimonies on the life and miracles of the saint.Among the testimonies presented was on...

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The iron age came after the stone and bronze ages and dates back to 1000 BC. The use of iron spread more slowly, however, because it was only understood much later that the molten mass obtained in the first stone furnaces needed to be heated again to produce the pliable metal that we know today. This is wrought iron, which represents the artistic e...

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The richness of the Tuscia subsoil has caused this area to become an important centre for the processing of stones, especially peperino (a type of volcanic tuff), which is worked by hand by particularly talented stonemasons, who have turned stone into an art form by creating interior and exterior fixtures, restorations, coverings, flooring, garden...

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In the Oristano area, as in many Sardinian towns, the craft of weaving has always been the prerogative of women, at first mostly for domestic purposes and later as a business activity. The first type of production was mainly to provide for girls’ dowries and was woven at home using a wooden loom, a tool found in almost every house. In the 1960s the...

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The kilns of Montelupo began producing the first “archaic majolica”, decorated with copper and manganese, as far back as the end of the 13th century, subsequently developing this activity over the course of the following century.  By the end of the fourteenth century, Montelupo was one of the driving forces in the renewal of majolica techniques and...

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The origins of bagpipes are lost in the mists of time: in the prehistoric era there is evidence of wind instruments made of pipes with holes and reeds to modulate the sound. The presence of similar flutes spread through the various villages of the Mediterranean area from the 3rd millennium BC, while pairs of reeded pipes, known as “auloi” by the Gr...

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The first “horned saddles” or “buttera saddles” date back to the second half of the 16th century, during the period of Spanish influence, with the establishment of the State of the Garrisons in Tuscany, in 1557, at the behest of Federico II, King of Spain. The saddle had a very robust structure. It was constructed around a wooden frame made from fi...

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Cremonese luthiery, the art of making bowed and plucked stringed instruments, began in the mid-16th century and soon attracted attention on the international scene, thanks to the work of Andrea Amati and his disciples.  The quality of the instruments made by Cremonese luthiers gradually declined from the end of the 18th century, but the foundations...

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