Discovering art and craft in Portico

As every Italian ancient borough, Portico di Romagna had a very well-known artisans activity, especially in the past times.

Capable artists and craftsmen were able to produce everything people needed for the daily life. The proximity with Florence provided all that could not be done locally, and needed a more refined and rich feature. After the Second World War and the consequent depopulation of the Apennines, the ancient and typical shops closed, until 2013.

We convinced some young artists to come over and open their shops within the walls of the borough and so they did and there are still here to offer a nice walk to the tourists, creating amazing works of art and coloring the main street.

The "Botteghine" of Portico

Il Castello Errante

We met Cristiano 2 years ago; he had just found a place to open, an old garage unused for years. Cristiano works the iron, he is a blacksmith. One of the weirdest, ancient jobs I have ever fallen upon. The blacksmith was a very important man once: weapons, armors, horseshoes and many other things connected to the war times of Mediaeval Age were built by this man. Cristiano uses his hands, the fire and the anvil: nothing more than this to transform an ancestral material into amazing work of arts. By the way, if you want to buy some jewels, ask Katia, his lovely girlfriend. www.ilcastelloerrante.com

La Ceramica

We met Cristiano 2 years ago; he had just found a place to open, an old garage unused for years. Cristiano works the iron, he is a blacksmith. One of the weirdest, ancient jobs I have ever fallen upon. The blacksmith was a very important man once: weapons, armors, horseshoes and many other things connected to the war times of Mediaeval Age were built by this man. Cristiano uses his hands, the fire and the anvil: nothing more than this to transform an ancestral material into amazing work of arts. By the way, if you want to buy some jewels, ask Katia, his lovely girlfriend.

La Bottega del Borgo

This is the reign of Giuliana and Silvia. Giuliana work with an ancient wooden frame, doing bed covers and other household line, as women used to do in old times. Last year the bloggers of Romagna Diffusa Blog Tour, Catherine Sweeney and Teresa Keane, spent a very lovely afternoon learning the technique of frame working and it was a real fan. Giuliana is an old nice lady, quite surly sometimes, but ready to give you a smile and tell you her history.

. As Silvia, the painter, which works in the other part of the shop. Colours and new materials are the plus of Silvia who always tries and experiment new ideas and ways of expressing her concept, which is quite a modern one. You can find a gallery of her work on http://www.art-apart.it

In the meanwhile, other shops has opened, so it’s a nice chance to come and visit the place.