Would you like to travel in time? It’s possible in many different ways. One of them - get surrounded by antique furniture, where each piece has its own history. You just need to use your imagination and … voila - you are in the house of the mayor of the city in the 18th century.
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Nowadays a lot of people have at home antique furniture that has lost its beauty, got destroyed with time, that needs “a doctor”. In the village of Poggio Catino, in Sabina, there is this kind of doctor, who has his “ospedale dei mobili” (the hospital of wood). His name is Massimo and he has been in this field for 40 years. His story is unusual, because it started only because he needed a job and passion was born later when he got the possibility to know more about this craft. Now Massimo is completely in love with what he is doing and it influences his job, he became a real Master.

​Now he is looking forward to finding young people to teach them his profession, to share his experience and knowledge with them, and to leave this profession for future generations. Moreover, Massimo wants to save the way the furniture was being restored before, using natural materials instead of artificial ones, using hands and simple instruments instead of big machines.
The other name that Massimo gave himself is “salvaguardia della storia” (keeper of history), because by saving the antique furniture we also save the history of its owners.
So, if you want to learn this craft or just wanna to hear the stories of this place, Massimo is always open to share them with you! :)

As part of our project, we had the opportunity to visit some of the local artisans of Roccantica. The residents work in crafts that have been passed down through many generations. Earlier this week we had the chance to meet Dora, a glassmaker, and her brother Carlo, an ironmonger.

Dora decided to study glassmaking after finishing high school. Different from Carlo, Dora's glassmaking was not a continuation of the family business. She explained that her initiation course required 2 years of study with an artists union. After this, she was able to further improve both her practical and creative skills when she set up her business.

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The two main techniques of Dora's craft are the lid and the glass fusion. The lid technique involves using tin to solder different panes of stained glass together. These pieces, often used in buildings such as churches, can last for hundreds of years even in an outdoor environment. The glass fusion technique involves melting glass itself in a furnace at 800°C to create shapes, designs, etc. Dora uses this technique to create things such as ornaments and jewelry. She gave us the chance of designing our own small glass pieces. This was a great opportunity to exercise our creative skills in a new way, we were also very pleased with the finished result! 

Dora now works part-time in this sector because of family responsibilities, and problems related to government Covid-19 restrictions. She usually sells most of her pieces but she kept a few on display in her workshop. We found a lot of these pieces to be highly creative and unique. These included a multitude of abstract designs and several others such as deformed glass bottles transformed into religious scenes.

Dora’s brother Carlo also showed us around his workplace in their shared location. Working with iron showed to be a very different but equally fascinating craft to investigate. Carlo got a lot of iron mongering experience and advice from his father when he was growing up. He chose to pursue a career after finishing college, starting as the apprentice of his father. 

Carlo momentarily runs his own business selling his wares to a variety of clients, often for medieval enactments. His main techniques still involve using the hammer and anvil, a stereotype of the middle ages. Also, he uses methods involving newer technologies. Carlo considers his work to be a highly artistic process: meeting a client, choosing the right material, shaping, and traditionally finishing the metal.

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Carlo showed us some of the methods for working with iron, I was impressed by Carlo’s high levels of both strength and precision required to work the material. When he let us try the techniques I felt more than clumsy. However, I found the experience very rewarding.

Being introduced to Dora and Carlo’s crafts in this very enjoyable and hands-on way gave us remarkable insights into the work-life of people in the Sabina area. We will certainly consider learning more about these professions, or others like them, in the future. We would encourage you also to investigate and learn more!

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After Claudio retired in 2003, the couple decided to move back together to Roccantica, a tiny village with captivating mountains where one enjoys peace during the day and silence during the night.. During that time, the currency was changing from Lira to Euro which increased the prices of all products including Claudio’s flat rental. Because of the difficult situation, they moved to Roccantica to live in Claudio’s parents' house. An imposing construction, which is over 800 years old, was left empty after both of his parents died. The building served an oil mill before the house existed. On the second floor, there were olives, and the ground floor contained the main wooden machine to produce oil. 

Every morning, Claudio and Maria go shopping in Poggio Mirteto. In the afternoon, Claudio reads newspapers, while Maria watches TV. Maria seldom tries to speak with him, but he constantly wears his headphones. He listens to football matches, the sport which Claudio is truly passionate about. Claudio told us about his father: his name was Delfino and he was born in 1903. He studied in elementary school for 6 years. He was a Carbonaro, a very respectable and honest person. Once, he went to a hairdresser and told him: ” I Carbonari non accettano resto (keep the change).” He was the first person in Roccantica to live for 100 years. For this occasion, Roccantica’s mayor organized a big event in the main square with a huge cake for all the people as well as the news coverage.

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The house of Claudio and Maria is full of old furniture and memories. 

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Q2: What was your goal of renovating the library?

I genuinely love this region as well as the village of Roccantica. I do my best to be an active member of the community and to give people around the area the opportunity to experience something new. The library has always existed. My husband and I decided to bring new books into the library and to renovate the place. I think it is important to give people of Roccantica an opportunity to experience a different culture and visit the whole world via words.

Q3:History of the building?

This building was built a long time ago, originally serving as a primary school. Nowadays, the place is divided into three separate parts used for community meetings, playing board games, and the library. The library is locate in the square  "Anna Montiral Coccia" in Roccantica 

Q4: What are the oldest books?
As far as I know, some of the oldest books date back to 1950’s.
 
Q5: What is the process for borrowing and returning a book?
Although there are no personnel assigned to overseeing the process, every book that is borrowed is self-reordered manually by the borrower in the related notebook along with filling the following information: The name and phone number of the borrower, the name of the Book, and the date of borrowing that book.

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