Manetti Gusmano & Figli
Manetti Gusmano & FigliCOTTO IMPRUNETINO SINCE EIGHT GENERATIONS
Manetti Gusmano & Figli
For centuries the constitutive quality of clay belonging to the geologic formations around the city of Impruneta, located only about ten kilometers from Florence, has been very well-known and appreciated. It has given rise to the renowned “Cotto Imprunetino” brand, a compact, solid, resistant, enduring, natural material with exceptional red shades, ideal for Cotto floor tiles.
The creation of these products – such as Cotto floor tiles, amphorae, pots, roof tiles (Coppi-tegole), and decorative and artistic elements – was made possible not only by the quality of raw materials but also by the skill of artisans (who shaped, wisely, the different frames) along with the profound mastery of firing technique. In this century-old tradition, you find the Manetti Gusmano & Figli company, active in Ferrone for eight generations, focused on producing “Cotto imprunetino” flooring tiles both in all machine-made and handmade versions.
Vases and pots complement the production of Cotto floor tiles and artistic objects in Terracotta, rigorously made by hand.
To enhance the company’s competitiveness and the selection of cotto products, the Manetti Gusmano & Figli firm has opened itself, recently, to technologically advanced solutions in the use of the material, acquiring the Sannini brand and its know-how (made up of knowledge and operative skills developed internationally in the last 20 years) in designing, producing and dry-mounting of “terracotta shells” in architecture, in a very contemporary language.
According to the new challenges, the Manetti Gusmano & Figli company is interested in the Cotto architectonic applications market – national and international – traditionally and innovatively, through contributions to research, planning, and technical information, all developed in-house.
Manetti Gusmano & Figli
By using the traditional “colombino” technique and, for some specific pots, by using the original moulds of its historical Gipsoteca, Manetti has revived the ancient method of working the terracottas of Impruneta. Orci, conche, vases, basins, amphorae, statues, small columns and classical furnishing accessories derived from the history of the Italian garden, entirely hand made and with decoration, all rigorously perfected with a chisel. It is a prize collection of works which transform craft production into art pieces of limited circulation. The forms appear enhanced by the exceptional characteristics of the raw material, derived from the exclusive “galestro” vein whose resistance makes the modeller’s work a task of absolute dedication and talent. If the vases are outside they need drainage in the bottom.