Tessieri, the new life (between tradition and design) of the tiles loved by Agnelli, De Niro and Benigni

Hot tones, rigorous geometries and drawings that refer to Art Nouveau. The tiles of the award -winning A.Tessieri & C. Lucca Fabbrica In 123 years of history have embellished houses and historic buildings, residences of artists and great entrepreneurs. The roots of this Italian reality have in the tradition of Lucca craftsmanship of excellence. The heart of production is still in the Borgo Giannotti district, where the company, born in 1902 thanks to the intuition of Alfredo Tessieri, landed in 1919.

Customer Customers from Agnelli to Benigni

From the Bagni Margherita of Viareggio to the Grand Hotel Royal to the villas, the tiles in grit and cement paste They embellished many places symbol of the Dolce Vita Viareggina. As well as prestigious dwellings from Lucca. But the success of the art nineau drawings of the award -winning factory over the years has passed the borders of Tuscany. The craftsmanship and beauty of these artifacts has been able to conquer artists and captains of industry. By great protagonists of the world of cinema as the director Bernardo Bertolucci, Roberto Benigniwho wanted the tile tiles for his Roman home, and Robert De Niro to the family Lambs.

The « double layer » technique

The tissue tiles are still produced today with the « double layer » technique which guarantees solidity and refinement to these artifacts: the upper one is made up of a mixture of concrete, marble powder, fragments of rock and powder pigments. The lower one consists of a washed sandy sand and cement. The tiles arise from the use of about 300 original division of the last centuryallowing the reproduction of designs and motifable motifs in the desired shade.

The Tessieri and the Members family

Each generation of the Tessieri family contributed to this success: From Alfredo, to his sons Adriano and Mario, to his nephew Francesco, up to Pier Giorgio, who is still present in the company today. In 2018, as part of a plan of relaunching the award -winning factory, three entrepreneurs entrepreneurs from Lucca entered the capital: Manuel Vellutini, Marco Pierallini and Alessandro Mennucci.

The reorganization with the entry of the Bracchi Group

Two years ago there was a new reorganization, which led the Bracchi group to become a majority partner of Tessieri. « When we entered the fabrics invoiced 50 thousand euros, in two years he doubled the revenues, » says Jacopo Bracchi. « In the next three years we aim to reach 2.5 million revenues and 5 million in 5 years. To do this we aim a lot on abroad. At the outside Salone we had a strong interest from international customers. In particular, we see interesting growth opportunities in the United States and Asia, from Singapore to Hong Kong », adds Bracchi.

A new growth path

This new growth path aims to reinterpret the manufacturing tradition, which remains the strength of Tessieri, through a contemporary and innovative vision. To lead this transformation is the new artistic direction entrusted to Storagemilano, architecture and design study founded in Milan by Barbara Ghidoni, Marco Donati and Michele Pasini. « Our goal is to interpret the concept of decorum in a new, more contemporary way by enhancing the history and tradition of fabrics, » he says Marco Donati. «We are studying new tile formats to be accompanied by historical ones, which also provide for the contamination of other materials. For this project we work in collaboration with architecture studies, photographers, sculptors and artists who are helping us to update the image of the company « , continues Donati.

A tour in the art galleries

For the launch of the new tile lines has organized a series of events in small art galleries, storagemilano, which will start before the summer. The first stage will be Pietrasanta, then it will be the turn of Milan, Turin, Verona, Padua, Bologna, Rome and many other cities that will be added later. « Experiment with unusual materials, with light, space and proportions, integrating the composition with a maniacal care of detail, is what we pursue since the beginning of our collaboration – explains Donati -. This series of initiatives and meetings in the art galleries allows us to make us understand the history and value of the Tessanti brand and at the same time to explore new collaborations and unpublished installations ».