The History of the "Chairs Triangle" Industrial
Cluster
The
expression "the Chairs Triangle" refers
to a geographic area which covers the areas of Manzano,
San Giovanni al Natisone and Corno di Rosazzo in
the Udine region in the North East of Italy (see
map).
In
this part of Italy the industrial-artisan production
of chairs dates back to the early 1800's.
Origins
A
group of chair seat weavers |
Towards
the second half of 19th century the traditional
craftsmanship developed in Mariano and Corona,
small towns under the dominion of the Habsburg
Empire and on the border of the Kingdom of Italy.
|
However, the heavy taxes and customs duty, convinced
these "chair-producers" to transfer their
business beyond the Austrian borders, near the towns
of San Giovanni al Natisone, Manzano and Corno di Rosazzo.
The
new location of these small artisan enterprises was
favoured by the presence of the many water-mills
which supplied energy to the industry. As well as established
factory premises there was also the local railway
at San Giovanni al Natisone.
Development
From
the beginning of the 1900's, the production
of chairs took on an important role in the area.
There is significant historic data which confirms
this: in the first 10 years of the last century,
10% of family "breadwinners" in
the triangle were involved in the wood and
furniture industry.
|
The
biggest chair
in the world |
While the period between 1926 and 1938, was marked
by much emigration, especially in the whole of the
Friuli region, only a few hundred of the inhabitants
from the "chairs triangle" area took this
option to make their fortunes in other European countries
or in North or South America.
The
small industry for the production of chairs made such
a come back after the war, that unemployment was hardly
felt in the area. The records documenting this era,
were edited and put together by the local town council
of Manzano.
This
incredible development of the "Chairs Triangle"
can hardly go un-noticed when looking at related
data from the various industrial censuses carried
out over the years. In 1927 there were 96 businesses
involved in the wood and furniture industry, employing
over 500;in 1951, it rose to 137 companies
employing 1,273; by 1961, this figure increased
to 234 companies, employing 2,642 workers and by 1971,
307 companies, employed 5,672 workers. In the early
80's the chairs sector accounted for 142 industrial
enterprises and 651 artisan small businesses, distributed
throughout an area covering 16 districts. Three of
these districts within the "triangle" have
maintained a position of absolute prominence, accounting
for 70% of businesses, 80% of industrial enterprises
and a capacity to employ over 12 thousand.
