Abstract

The art and technique of stucco decoration - with its millenary tradition - was not spared by the cultural and technical transformations that characterised the period astride of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During those years, in fact, and in particular during the early decades of the twentieth century, also the stucco decoration sector experienced the industrialisation process, which, for different aspects, even if not completely, affected and influenced the whole building sector. The traditional, artisan production of stucco architectural decorations partly left way to an industrial type of production, in which technological - process and product - organisational - productive and non productive innovations marked a renewed season in stucco work. Handbooks published between the nineteenth and twentieth century take up traditional ìrecipesî and contain the ìrules of good workmanshipî for making stucco decorations, but some technical literature started to systematically introduce specifications and instructions concerning ìmodernî treatments to improve the quality and durability of the works. But the true innovation - which perhaps saved the sector, at a time that was certainly difficult for decoration and ornamental work in general, and also partly marked the wane of tradition and the decline of handcrafting - consisted in the distribution of specific catalogues proposing ìmodern and styled stucco decorationsî produced semi-industrially and industrially.
KEY-WORD: Stucco Decoration - artisan production - industrial production - catalogues.

Index