“We are very happy with the enthusiasm shown. We are receiving far more applications than we expected, and we have many new developments.” These are the words of Michela Canzi Blanc, president of the Fondazione The Place of Wonders, linked to The Hospitality Experience, the collection of five-star hotels owned by the Italian Babini family: The Place in Florence, Londra Palace Venezia in Venice, and Borgo dei Conti in Umbria. Here, she shares the first steps and results of a project created to safeguard an essential part of Italian culture and promote more sustainable tourism.

Read the Wonders you can visit with the foundation here.

Why was The Place of Wonders created?

“Everything started with the renovation of The Place hotel in Florence during the pandemic. As usual, we relied on local artisans and discovered that many of them were struggling because their work was no longer sustainable. It felt natural for us to do something to support these crafts in the regions where our hotels are located. As a foundation, we aim to promote arts and crafts that are disappearing and ensure they are passed on to new generations.”

What is the foundation’s mission?

“We support traditional artistic craftsmanship, which is vital for the local economy but also for preserving the beauty and uniqueness of places and values that are essential for quality tourism and high-end hospitality. So, we not only take dedicated actions, but we also want to become a reference point for those arts and places that deserve to maintain authentic artisan realities, now and in the future.”

How do you put this into practice?

“First of all, we offer scholarships for professional training with master artisans. In Venice, for example, we have chosen the arts of glass bead-making and lace-making. In Florence, we focus on jewellery-making and, hopefully soon, on restoration. In Perugia, we have a project with the Atelier Giuditta Brozzetti, located in a stunning deconsecrated church where weaving is still done on 19th-century looms.”

How do you select the artisans you work with?

“The general managers of our hotels play a fundamental role. Claudio Meli of The Place is Florentine, and Alain Bullo of Londra Palace is Venetian. Who better than them to know the city? One of our main guidelines is to select artisans who best represent local traditions, share our values, and want to work with us to secure a future for young talents. Starting this year, we are also appointing a technical committee within the foundation to help with the selection of new projects.”

Can you give us some examples?

“In Florence, we work with Matteo Caparrini, a young shoemaker and son of artisans, who creates sustainable sneakers (‘Matteo 1 to 1’ is the brand name). He sources Tuscan leather, uses scraps from the fashion industry, gets soles from a factory just 5 km from his workshop, and only works on commission to avoid overproduction. We also collaborate with historic artisans such as Moleria Locchi, which has been producing glass and crystal objects with ancient handcrafting techniques since the late 1800s, and Fratelli Piccini, the only remaining artisan jewelry workshop on the Ponte Vecchio.

In Venice, we select five different artisans every year—our ‘Wonders’—and ask each of them to create a unique piece for Londra Palace Venezia, forming an exclusive capsule collection. This year, among others, we are showcasing miniature ‘forcole’ (the traditional rowlocks used on Venetian gondolas) by Saverio Pastor and a tray by Lunardelli made from reclaimed wood from ‘bricole’ (the wooden poles that mark the waterways in the Venetian Lagoon).”

Have you identified any particularly rare crafts?

“In Florence, we discovered a rare ‘scagliola’ atelier, an inlay technique on stone dating back to the Renaissance. In Bianco Bianchi Scagliola’s workshop, a 24-year-old craftsman, representing the fourth generation of artisans, uses this ancient technique to create contemporary objects. In Perugia, Maddalena Forenza continues the craft of her great-grandfather Ludovico Caselli by hand-painting stained glass windows—his extraordinary work can still be admired in the Moretti Caselli Studio.”

What has been the foundation’s first major success?

“Our collaboration with the Le Arti Orafe school in Florence. When we first visited, we saw that all the students were foreigners. We thought it was a shame that no Italian students were carrying on this world-renowned excellence. So, we launched a scholarship program for young Florentines and carried out an awareness campaign in the city’s art high schools, offering full professional training scholarships. This year, we have 12 students, and we hope some of them will open workshops in the city.”

Any success stories?

“After taking our course to become a ‘perlera’ in Venice (a traditional craft exclusively practiced by women, who historically were not allowed to work in glass furnaces and instead created intricate beads for jewellery), Veronica Paier opened her own workshop. In 2024, she was selected to exhibit at the prestigious Venice High Craftsmanship Salon. This was a huge satisfaction for us and for Alessia Fuga, the master artisan who led the course.”

How do you involve your hotel guests?

“We invite our guests to visit workshops and purchase handmade goods, discovering the true ‘Made in Italy’ beyond the usual high-end brands in city centres. For example, they can visit the Ginori manufactory in Florence to see behind-the-scenes production, meet jeweller Elisa Piccini on the Ponte Vecchio, or even try their hand at the art of scagliola. In Venice, they can learn lace-making in Burano with Martina Vidal, make glass beads with Alessia Fuga in Murano, or watch a remer (oar-maker) like Saverio Pastor forge a forcola instead of just taking a gondola ride. In Umbria, they can meet Marta Cucchia, great-granddaughter of Giuditta Brozzetti, and hear her stories about the patterns of Perugian tablecloths and the innovations she has introduced to modernise ancient looms. Finally, they can participate in workshops, make donations to the foundation, and contribute through the Capsule Collection. Any support is always welcome.

This project is designed to have a positive impact not just on the culture of craftsmanship but also on our hotel guests, who, once they return home, become ambassadors of our culture abroad—feeling part of this project and the destination itself.”