Who we are
Small great jewel of the upper Irpinia, Sant’Andrea di Conza acts as a hinge between two regions: Basilicata and Campania. It has always been one of the most dynamic and enterprising villages. Its approximately 1700 inhabitants proudly retain a strong identity, even if they have entered the age of technology, they live traditionally in a reality made of craftsmanship, art, cooking, creativity and ready to grasp the signs of evolution. And here comes “Lu Faucion” from the vision of the entrepreneur Davide Maraffino, “honorary citizen of Sant’Andrea di Conza” who stands in his humility and industriousness, giving to artists and young people of the village the opportunity to get involved and succeed In reaching good quality of life, rediscovering the art of the earth, of wrought iron, of stone, of embroidery, glass and sanitary ware, which together represent the new Italian Renaissance. At the forefront the artists: Michele Marena, Giuseppe Cignarella, Michele Perriello.
Iron creations
The Art of Iron – Company Manera
The “Marena” artisan company was founded in Sant’Andrea di Conza (AV) in 1963 on the initiative of the owner Michele Marena, who inherited tradition from his blacksmith father in the early 1900s, he decided to continue the craft he learned at a very young age. After a short period of emigration to Venezuela, where he continued with the same intense passion the work undertaken in his native country, he decided to return to the village in 1964 and, with renewed entrepreneurial spirit, began with employing about 10-12 young apprentices who, following the passion of the young craftsman, become his faithful collaborators.
In 1974 from the small shop in the village he opened a factory of about 1000 square meters. Anvil and hammer, pliers and pincers were and are still used tools today; the most technologically advanced instrument is the oxyhydrogen flame. The work is artistic and raw material is worked until reaching a way of “speak” in a hundred, a thousand shapes. Bent, wrought, modeled iron is transformed and animated, taking vegetal shapes or animal features, flowery waterfalls or imaginary creatures. The varied production, still strictly manual, includes many objects such as beds, chandeliers, gates, mirrors, tables and gifts. The many creations of Marena, through the son Nunzio who continued the business of the father, have found space in various international exhibitions in Toronto, London, Tokyo, Atlanta (with the opening of a store), South Carolina, Madrid, Toledo, Paris, Nice, Adelaide etc.. A significant participation for twenty years to Artigiano in Fiera Milano promoted by the Avellino Chamber of Commerce. The presence of the owner in every part of the world has therefore brought a part of his village in everyone’s homes. In 1990 he was awarded with the diploma of master of art a the European center of arts and crafts (S.Servolo) Venice.He also boasts around 40 gold medals won in various events with various diplomas of merit and various awards.
The Art of Wrought Iron
After a long experience as a “disciple” with the Master of Art Michele Marena, Giuseppe Cignarella thus discovers his vocation and in 2020 “Favugnarte” was born. Forged in the soul, the proud artist gave continuity to his master’s heritage showing the ability to tame, mold, model with the strength of fire and water all his creations, making his works unique and giving them that aspect of “magic”.
Stone creations
The master of the stone
The ancient art of the stonemason has its centenary roots in the “Serra delle Serpi” with the extraction of a local stone called favaccio and favaccino. Under the thrust of tradition, the stone workshop was born in the 1950s. The very young artist Michele Perriello learned from his father Francesco and absorbed the technique with passion. And still today he preserves this heritage as in a treasure chest, reflecting it in the harmony of his creations.
Hand embroidery
Embroidery and the Art of Embroidering
Embroidery is the craft activity and the product of the drawing with the needle on fabric. It is a very fine art, practiced since ancient times in Sant’Andrea di Conza. This art is aesthetic expression of the interiority and soul of women, it reflects the opinions, feelings and thoughts of the artist in the social, moral, cultural, ethical or religious context of his historical period. In this village, embroidery is undoubtedly one of the oldest activities. There are some fragments of embroidery dating back to the Middle Ages. In folk art the techniques were handed down over time with gradual acquisition of originality and local connotations, with the extension of a fashion initially reserved
for the more affluent class that could afford both the expense for the materials and the time required for execution.
In fact, only a few elegant embroideries of folk art have been saved, both for the preciousness of the materials used, both for their use, mainly ceremonial. As for the painting, even embroidery has a very ancient popular historical basis. Embroidery is done with wool, cotton or other natural, artificial or synthetic yarn of various thickness; usually the thinner and more robust yarn it is used for unraveling (hemstitch, gigliuccio …) and the thicker for other types of embroidery. Embroidery, like any traditional manual technique, lives on “past and future”, and the key to success lies precisely in maintaining history, culture and techniques of the past, and at the same time optimize them in a modern key that guarantees performance meeting the wishes of our customers. Lu Faucion looks with new eyes to the future of a millenary tradition to investigate infinite possibilities of expression. Only the virtuosity that characterizes the art of embroidery and laborious hands can personalize and reinterpret, paying primary attention to details, to satisfy the evaluative and critical capacity of the final consumer. A space-time location that makes them assume the role of historical testimony, thus preserving its characteristics of uniqueness, authenticity and authority.
