My love for iron has not been one of those at first glance, in fact it was a real "love at last sight" as they say in England.
Actually, I did not want to be a blacksmith. As I was growing up in such context, I was totally disinterested by this job, it was so ordinary to my eyes: I wanted to be precisely the other side of the moon, I wanted to express myself and be original. How could I ever do that with iron? - What a fool! - Its dust bothered me, and even the smell wasn’t among the best, that’s why I always had something else to do from helping my grandfather and my father in the workshop. If I look back at it, I was a real slacker!
Then something changed. Probably I have changed my mindset. I started paying more attention and looking more carefully, learning the basics. What really impressed me was the fact that an hard material such as iron, that is supposed to be very difficult to work with, become very soft and malleable once it has reached the right temperature. It let you do everything you want more or less!
With the help of my father Claudio and our foreman Pietro, I will try to let you rediscover this forgotten art, that I think has felt the effects of industrialization and increasing technology more than other jobs and sectors. We will discover together how to weld together pieces of iron without using the welding torch and how to create small common use objects with our own hands.
The place in which my lab is located, is an important crossroads between Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio: Città della Pieve is counted as birthplace of the great painter Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino, master of Raffaello, and his precious Borgo has been a beautiful setting for his works.
In fact you can visit the Adoration of the Magi of the Oratorio Santa Maria dei Bianchi, The Baptism of Christ at the Cathedral, The Deposition from the Cross of the Diocesan Civic Museum of Santa Maria dei Servi.
Moreover, in the nearby Chiusi you will find numerous artifacts and Etruscan burial mounds that can be visited.
For those who needed to relax, you find so manu spa resorts within 30 km, on the Tuscan side: San Casciano dei Bagni, Chianciano and Bagno Vignoni just to name a few.
In short, an area that offers several proposals for every kind of touristic tastes!