SPECIAL EXHIBITORS: FOCUS ON SACRED STATUARY FROM VAL GARDENA
This special article is dedicated to productive districts of the sacred articles chain; it illustrates the data of the Sacred Statuary sector and reports how the companies are facing the current situation and which will be the main recovery goals to achieve once the emergency will be over.
The tradition of creating wood carved figures in Val Gardena dates back from the 1600, and in only 200 years it went from simple hobby to true employment for the inhabitants of the town of Ortisei and the villages nearby. This gave life to a productive district, which became famous all over the world for its quality and artisanship. The works have been of Christian nature since the beginning: Madonnas, angels, cribs and crucifixes.
Thanks to high quality sculptural techniques and hand painting, the sacred statuary from Val Gardena has become a true example of Made in Italy artisanship, which nowadays you can find in many dioceses, churches and missions all over the world.
DATA FROM THE SECTOR:
In Val Gardena there are approximately 190 businesses working in the artistic artisanship; they can be divided into 4 different crafts:
- Engravers
- Gold-embellishers
- Decorative carvers
- Wood-carvers
Most of these businesses are one-man companies, carried on by one or two carvers only.
The main markets in which they operate are:
Italy, Europe mostly Austria and Germany; they export their creations also to USA, South Africa and marginally to Asia.
WORD TO THE COMPANIES
The artisans, sculptors and the many businesses that have begun over time in the territory have clear ideas on the predicament they are going through in these days, shared with all the other districts of excellence in Italy.
Stephan Kasslatter, from the company Bergland, has answered to our questions:
1) How are you facing the current situation of emergency inside the company?
We are experiencing a very difficult moment. We stopped the production until further notice in order to protect the health of our employees, and we also closed the shop to the public, but we are carrying on with the shipping.
2) Do the downturns or cancellations of orders concern Italy or abroad?
We are having downturns in orders and unfortunately cancellations as well, both from Italy and from abroad.
3) Which are the strategies you think is useful to put in place now and which are the opportunities to be seized in the next months for the economic recovery of the sector? Among these, how do you consider the participation to Koinè next October 2020?
In the future, we will strive to improve the quality of our production and the service we give to our customers. Above all, it is our firm intention to keep the entire production cycle, from the first wood cutting to the last brush stroke here in Italy, especially in the traditionally typical area of Val Gardena.
We are confident that our participation to Koinè next October 2020 will be crucial to present ourselves to our customers again and give them a strong signal: Bergland is here for you!
4) Which are the main markets for you in terms of geographical areas and types of clients?
In addition to Italy, our main markets are the rest of Europe, North and Central America and partially Asia.
At this hard time, the watchwords are optimism, courage and ‘Made in Italy’, a key element on which to invest to revitalize artistic statuary, a very important sector for the economic fabric of the Val Gardena.
Many other companies from Val Gardena will take part to Koinè, from 25 to 27 October 2020 in Vicenza, all sharing the same goal: getting the sector start again, to be a symbol of Italian expertise in the world. Check out below the protagonists from Val Gardena:
Come to know them at the show, register now!
#Koinè20 #artisticstatuary #faithanddevotion