When people say that Italy is a country of saints, poets and seafarers, they forget that its reputation is also built on stone-cutters, cabinetmakers, upholsterers and blacksmiths. Why would four companies decide to work together? To share experience and knowledge, push the envelope of environmentalism, combine skills, upgrade the exploitation of resources, and promote virtuous exchange. Having similar backgrounds makes it easy to speak the same language and work toward common
goals, starting with respect for materials. The resulting collection is unique. It shows a convergence of the exceptional skills in which each company excels. Henraux proposes three classic, timeless types of marble that allude to a forgotten Elysium. Poltrona Frau wraps the handle’s grip with a warm, welcoming material, a counterpoint to the rigidity of the metal. Riva 1920 stimulates our imagination with an ancient wood from New Zealand and the extraordinarily lustrous walnut-wood.
Monte Altissimo is the place where it all began: the beating heart of the company. It was Michelangelo Buonarroti, in 1517, to discover the marbles of Seravezza. In 1820 Jean Baptiste Alexandre Henraux transformed Michelangelo’s intuition into a company destined to great success. Over the years, prestigious orders were assigned to Henraux: the Cathedral of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg (1845), the reconstruction of Montecassino (1945-1962), the floor of the basilica of San Pietro in the Vatican (1962), just to name a few. In 1957 Erminio Cidonio arrived in Versilia to become the General Manager and leader of Henraux. He made Henraux a world-leading company in the stone sector, dedicating his whole life and his energies to it. He developed and maintained relationships with several great masters, such as Henry Moore, Hans Jean Arp, Joan Miró, Georges Vantongerloo, Isamu Noguchi and many others. Henraux marbles are used today, as in the past, for works by important architects all over the world and for the sculptures of the best known contemporary masters. Luci di Carrara is the company division specialized in products and furnishings in the world of design.
Since 1912, Poltrona Frau has been a protagonist in the world of made in Italy furniture. Art of making and constructive rigor with excellent raw materials. High-end solutions for the home and office. Timeless pieces that express a universal, intimate and personal elegance. From Chester and Vanity Fair, conceived by the founder Renzo Frau, to Dezza by Gio’ Ponti and Titanio, a project by Pierluigi Cerri and the first Compasso d’Oro for the company. Up to current successes such as the collections designed by Jean-Marie Massaud, Ludovica+Roberto Palomba, Roberto Lazzeroni, GamFratesi and Neri&Hu. The Residential division, with projects signed each year by the greatest talents of contemporary design, is completed with the Icone collection. The propulsive center is the production site in Tolentino, in the Marche region, a factory rooted in the territory, which has always been at the forefront in the field of certification linked to environmental sustainability, health and safety of collaborators.
It all began in 1920 in Cantù. The brothers Maurizio and Davide Riva followed in the tradition of their father and grandfather and towards the end of the 1970s began to work as carpenters in the shop under their house, dedicating themselves to custom-made furniture. An artisanal process of enhancing natural wood begins thanks to the use of completely natural waxes and oils, a distinctive feature of Riva1920. Alongside the woods from programmed and controlled cuts, the company introduces reused woods such as the millenary Kauri from New Zealand, the Briccole from the Venice Lagoon and the Cedar from Lebanon. The products that make up the Riva1920 collection are made of real reforestation solid wood, using different essences of trees such as maple, cherry, oak and walnut. Characteristic of the company is the use of reused wood. Producing furniture that defies time and fully respects the environment is the thought that has been the basis of the work of Riva1920 for more than 100 years, true excellence of the Made in Italy.
