Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Paolo, owner of Paolo Carrara Tappezzerie, to learn about the history of the famous business, today a destination for visitors from all over the world.
Paolo is the son of Giuseppe Carrara, a well-known upholsterer from Upper Bergamo, who already opened his shop in the heart of the historic centre in the 1950s.
Today the small shop is located in Via Rocca, in a beautiful space made available by the Municipality, with the desire to support artisan craftsmanship in the historic centre. Just like the Scuri blacksmith's shop, this too has become a place of continuous pilgrimage for visitors from all over the world, curious and amazed by this ancient art.
"For tourists this place is Italy. The shop dates back to 1200 and the handmade manufacturing of mattresses is one of those endangered professions."
The wool still comes from Bergamo’s sheep. "Our mattresses are definitely a zero-km product", Paolo proudly underlines, and immediately afterwards he shows us his carder.
It is a machine used to clean wool from impurities and enlarge its fibers, thus making it softer and consequently useful for making more comfortable mattresses.
Previously, this work was done manually by a “Cardalana”, who every 2/3 years went to houses to reinvigorate old mattresses. They had to unstitch the mattress, take out all the wool, card it well, put it back inside the mattress and stitch it all up so it could be used again. It was such a part of the life of the communities that even today, in some nativity scenes, a Cardalana statuette can be found.
Nowadays there are still those who keep these old mattresses, "because they know they protect better against the cold winter", or who ask for new ones because they are looking for something made to measure.
Paolo is an expert tailor and his slow and rhythmic gestures almost follow the rhythm of nighttime breathing, as if he wanted to fill that mattress also with the calm necessary for a good night’s sleep.
Above all, it is a work that requires patience: “It takes patience to sew and to know how to work with people. You have to tiptoe into their homes and take care of what they ask for."
Next to Paolo is his grandson Lorenzo, a graduate in political science, who has been asking to learn the trade for some time.
"I always repeat the same phrase to him: the more you do, the more you make mistakes, the more you learn."
Many times, the so-called grandmother's furniture arrives in his shop. That of old houses full of objects and memories and where even just remaking the fabric of an armchair can damage the nostalgia.
Having to deal with memories often means getting emotionally involved and therefore it takes time and care to choose whether to hold them tight or let them go.
Chairs, sofas and walls come back to life with this patient fabric craftsman, in love with beauty and memory.
Together with the Urban District of Commerce we met Paolo, owner of Paolo Carrara Tappezzerie, to learn about the history of the famous business, today a destination for visitors from all over the world.
Paolo is the son of Giuseppe Carrara, a well-known upholsterer from Upper Bergamo, who already opened his shop in the heart of the historic centre in the 1950s.
Today the small shop is located in Via Rocca, in a beautiful space made available by the Municipality, with the desire to support artisan craftsmanship in the historic centre. Just like the Scuri blacksmith's shop, this too has become a place of continuous pilgrimage for visitors from all over the world, curious and amazed by this ancient art.
"For tourists this place is Italy. The shop dates back to 1200 and the handmade manufacturing of mattresses is one of those endangered professions."
The wool still comes from Bergamo’s sheep. "Our mattresses are definitely a zero-km product", Paolo proudly underlines, and immediately afterwards he shows us his carder.
It is a machine used to clean wool from impurities and enlarge its fibers, thus making it softer and consequently useful for making more comfortable mattresses.
Previously, this work was done manually by a “Cardalana”, who every 2/3 years went to houses to reinvigorate old mattresses. They had to unstitch the mattress, take out all the wool, card it well, put it back inside the mattress and stitch it all up so it could be used again. It was such a part of the life of the communities that even today, in some nativity scenes, a Cardalana statuette can be found.
Nowadays there are still those who keep these old mattresses, "because they know they protect better against the cold winter", or who ask for new ones because they are looking for something made to measure.
Paolo is an expert tailor and his slow and rhythmic gestures almost follow the rhythm of nighttime breathing, as if he wanted to fill that mattress also with the calm necessary for a good night’s sleep.
Above all, it is a work that requires patience: “It takes patience to sew and to know how to work with people. You have to tiptoe into their homes and take care of what they ask for."
Next to Paolo is his grandson Lorenzo, a graduate in political science, who has been asking to learn the trade for some time.
"I always repeat the same phrase to him: the more you do, the more you make mistakes, the more you learn."
Many times, the so-called grandmother's furniture arrives in his shop. That of old houses full of objects and memories and where even just remaking the fabric of an armchair can damage the nostalgia.
Having to deal with memories often means getting emotionally involved and therefore it takes time and care to choose whether to hold them tight or let them go.
Chairs, sofas and walls come back to life with this patient fabric craftsman, in love with beauty and memory.
