A short history of Italian hatters

[Bird Lives]

Art becomes industry

The north of Italy which seems to enjoy nature of conditions favorable to the hatters industry birth.
First of all the availability of water, a key factor in the machining process. And then the skilled labor that is crucial to a production cycle which, at least until the nineteenth century, is mainly manual.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century a character stands out among the manufacturers of hats is Giovan Battista Gnecchi implanting in Milan the first plant "modern" of Italy. Following the example of fellow Parisian Leprevost introduced and perfected the use of silk in hats invoice. Alessandria, Intra, Biella, Monza, Montevarchi are the historical sites of the craft tradition. At the end of the nineteenth century there were also factories in Voghera and Cremona.
Meanwhile also they resisted numerous shops stubbornly attached to the handwork that some, at least at this stage of mechanization is not yet perfect, guaranteed a fancy hat to softness, durability and care in the finish.
In 1857 Giuseppe Borsalino and brother Lazzaro start producing fur hats in a workshop in Alessandria laying the foundations of art that will make their creations synonymous with Italian elegance. Borsalino became famous for its felts "feather" and the model "the diplomatic".
Numerous industries in Intra are documented in 1874.
That was a remnant of an ancient tradition of the area since at least the beginning of the eighteenth century were manufactured hats on the shores of Lake Maggiore. It had been the same Count Borromeo to fund the planting of a fine hat factory.
Hatters intresi decided to become entrepreneurs know the names: Frova, Nava, Petroleum and later at the beginning of the nineteenth century Albertini (1817), but certainly is imposed on all the figure of Giovanni Panizza whose name will become one of the most famous brands in the world .
Open in 1881 Panizza hat factory it will soon reach an undisputed prestige. His name is linked to the sporting and elegant hats at once, made with such lightweight felts Bon Voyage and mixed colored felts obtained by employing a few dozen grams of raw material.
In more recent years the lake shores have given birth to Berrettificio Verbano. Founded by a former employee of Panizza this small company is distinguished by the high quality of workmanship and quality materials.
Another popular Piedmont area for his hat factories is certainly the Biella. Laboratories often craftsmen implanted in the house existed here since the early nineteenth century, but the real transition to the industry came with the birth in 1862 of the company Milanaccio and Rolando Barbisio. The Barbisio hat owes its prodigious spread to the quality of work entrusted to the expert hands of the workers' children and grandchildren hatters ".
Specializes in producing exotic hats, its models were prized and exported to South American markets. In 1897 comes the hat factory Cervo a Sagliano Micca that links its name to the famous "Princeps" synonymous with elegance and quality. Adorno in 1885, a company formed by fifteen hatters gives life to the hat factory Grosso Valtz and C.
Tuscany, undisputed leader in the production of straw hats does not fail to make its contribution also in the hat Felt production: at Montevarchi in the first half of the nineteenth century is on the hat factory Giuseppe Rossi and later, in 1918 Nino Donati begins to produce hats for men and women after having traded braids for making straw hats.

The Tesi Company was founded in 1850 as manufacture of products for the manufacture of straw hats. By the end of the nineteenth century the company became producer of finished hats. Are famous his "Leghorn", the "Magline", the "Sailing" that the whole world knows as the "Chevalier" models, "Boater", "Sailor".

This is a short history of Italian producers of hat, if you have more to add or somenthing to ask......

This really is sensational stuff that you are so generously giving to us....I love it....
A couple years ago I was in Turkey and searching for info on Berretificio Verbano made hats for Roberto Mazoni. If knowledge is power, then this info is priceless...
Thanks...

 

[Armando]

Hi, I'll be in Italy this summer. Does anyone know where I can purchase some hat making supplies in Milan? I'll take insight for Florence as well. Thanks. I'm an apprentice to hat making / millinery. Any and all info would be appreciated.