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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.
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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
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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.
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.
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The
biggest chair in the world |
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.
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