L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025 L'Italo-Americano t i o n , s u s t a i n a b i l i t y , a n d product design. The project extends Bulgari's long-stand- i n g i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h t h e V a l e n z a c o m m u n i t y a n d directly feeds skilled workers into the brand's manufactur- ing base. In Rome, the same brand h a s g o n e a s t e p f u r t h e r , thanks to its foundation and the creation of a protocol with the city's metropolitan administration, which led to the launch of two three-year professional courses for stu- dents aged 14 to 18, covering luxury hospitality and high jewelry. Classes started this fall, with the 2025/26 aca- demic year: the hospitality course will be based at Castel Fusano's training center, while the jewelry section will o p e n n e a r B u l g a r i ' s n e w high-jewelry workshop in the EUR district. Both programs combine classroom instruc- tion with real work experi- e n c e i n B u l g a r i H o t e l s & Resorts and in the compa- ny's own ateliers, offering a f u l l e d u c a t i o n a l p i p e l i n e from school to employment. The foundation defines its mission as the "transmission of know-how" in fields where Italy risks losing its leader- ship, demonstrating how pri- v a t e e n t e r p r i s e c a n h e l p ic barriers. The result is a growing disconnect between interest and opportunity. Interestingly, one of the most promising responses has come not from the public s e c t o r b u t f r o m a l u x u r y brand: Bulgari, whose jew- elry ateliers have long repre- sented Italian excellence, is investing directly in edu- cation. In Valenza, the his- toric goldsmith district of Piedmont, it has opened the Scuola Bulgari, the first training centre entirely dedi- cated to the art of jewelry. Developed in collaboration w i t h t h e T a r ì D e s i g n S c h o o l , t h e i n s t i t u t i o n offers structured profession- al courses in goldsmithing and stone setting that com- bine theory with extensive l a b p r a c t i c e : t h e g o l d - s m i t h i n g c o u r s e r u n s f o r 1,680 hours and will train s t u d e n t s u n t i l 2 0 2 7 ; t h e stone-setting course lasts 600 hours and concludes in 2026. Both programs are free, open to anyone with a h i g h - s c h o o l d i p l o m a a n d manual aptitude, and guided b y m a s t e r g o l d s m i t h s , designers, and art historians. The emphasis is on passing d o w n t e c h n i q u e s – f r o m pavé, to prong, and bezel set- tings – but also on innova- rebuild the infrastructure of craft education that public i n s t i t u t i o n s a l o n e c a n n o longer sustain. I t i s n o t o n l y h i g h - e n d brands to take the initiative, though, but also cities, just like Florence. Long a center of decorative arts, the Tuscan capital is positioning itself as a training and promotion h u b f o r c r a f t s m a n s h i p , thanks to the yearly Arti- gianato e Palazzo fair at G i a r d i n o C o r s i n i , w h i c h brings together around one hundred Italian and interna- tional artisans for three days of open workshops, demon- strations, and commissions. The 2025 edition took place i n m i d - S e p t e m b e r a n d included a dedicated "Next Generation" space reserved for under-35 makers in the Manica Lunga of Palazzo C o r s i n i , w h e r e e m e r g i n g workshops were given visi- bility and direct access to b u y e r s a n d t h e p u b l i c . Schools were invited to bring students to observe artisans at work, to transform exhibi- tion spaces into informal classrooms. F l o r e n c e a l s o h o s t s M I D A , the International Handicrafts Fair at Fortezza da Basso, which every spring transforms into a vast labo- ratory where master crafts- m e n r u n w o r k s h o p s f o r young visitors. Organised with Artex, Confartigianato, CNA, and the Osservatorio dei Mestieri d'Arte, MIDA combines market, mentor- ship, and outreach in one setting. Tuscany's participa- tion in the European Days of Crafts, when ateliers open to t h e p u b l i c , c o m p l e t e s a regional ecosystem focused on awareness and training. All these examples, from Bulgari's efforts to Florence's fairs and events, show Italy is slowly rebuilding the link b e t w e e n e d u c a t i o n a n d craftsmanship, and trying to create spaces where young p e o p l e c a n l e a r n d i r e c t l y from master artisans. If sus- tained and expanded, these initiatives could become the foundation of a new genera- tion of makers, one that pre- serves tradition while shap- i n g t h e f u t u r e o f I t a l i a n creativity. find." Among artisan firms, the rate rises to 59.2 percent, four points more than the previous year and twelve above the national average, w i t h t h e m i s m a t c h b e i n g strongest in Veneto, Umbria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Tuscany, where more than six in ten artisan positions remain vacant. This gap is s t r i k i n g b e c a u s e s u r v e y s show how young Italians are far from indifferent to man- ual work: a Confartigianato- C e n s i s r e p o r t f o u n d t h a t more than four million peo- ple under 35 (around forty percent of that age group) say they are attracted to arti- san trades, as they see them as creative, autonomous, and compatible with sustainable living. Moreover, nearly half of Italians under 30 express a d e s i r e t o b e c o m e entrepreneurs, a figure far above the European average. So, young Italians are drawn by the idea of working with t h e i r h a n d s a n d m i n d s , bringing together tradition a n d n e w t e c h n o l o g y , y e t many find no clear path into these careers because voca- t i o n a l g u i d a n c e r e m a i n s weak, schools rarely connect students with workshops, and apprenticeships have been reduced by bureaucrat- I taly's c r a f t s m a n - ship world is facing a paradox: the coun- t r y t h a t g a v e t h e w o r l d h a n d m a d e shoes, marbled paper, Mura- no glass, and goldsmithing is now struggling to find the next generation of makers. The number of artisans has dropped sharply, almost four h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d f e w e r than ten years ago: according to Confartigianato, Italy went from 1.77 million arti- sans in 2014 to 1.37 million in 2024, a contraction of 22 percent. Y e t , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , demand for skilled craft workers continues to rise, and initiatives are multiply- ing to train and attract young people back into the sector. T h e t e n s i o n b e t w e e n a s h r i n k i n g w o r k f o r c e a n d renewed attention to crafts- manship defines a moment in which Italy's tradition of the saper fare is being rede- fined through education, pol- icy, and private investment. Today there are around 1.25 million artisan enter- prises operating across the country –about one in five of all Italian firms – and they employ roughly 2.6 million p e o p l e , c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o 14.5 percent of the private sector workforce, numbers that confirm the weight of the artisan economy but also reveal a structural weakness: only 121,000 of these busi- nesses are led by under-35s, meaning fewer than one in ten has a young owner. The data mirror a broader demo- g r a p h i c i m b a l a n c e , w i t h workers over 55 now out- numbering those under 30 in many trades, which results in an aging workforce and a fragile chain of transmission. Confartigianato estimates that over 300,000 artisan businesses risk disappearing in the next few years because there is no clear generational handover in sight. The contradiction deepens when looking at recruitment f i g u r e s : i n 2 0 2 4 , I t a l i a n firms reported that nearly h a l f – 4 7 . 8 p e r c e n t – o f planned hires were "hard to FRANCESCA BEZZONE The artisan pipeline: who is training Italy's next generation of makers? An Italian artisan at work. Despite the fame of our craftsmanship, the younger generations are struggling to train. Photo/Istock LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS

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