The Story of Piombini Mobili: Wood, Design, and Artisan Passion for 100 Years

Grazie a Mario Piombini...

Mario Piombini and the first furniture company.

 

Mario Piombini was born in 1897 in Bovolone to a very poor family living in Corte Quaranta (roughly where the nursery now stands, between Via Roma and Via Ospedale), and he learned the trade of a carpenter. After serving in the military from 1917 to 1919, during which he took part in the wartime events of the Great War, he started working as a carpenter and married Rosa Bruna Zanini, with whom he had his first daughter, Pierina, who unfortunately died at 18 months old; this loss was offset by the birth of Bruno on January 1, 1925. In 1927 Renato was born, and the following year another daughter came into the world, who was given the same name as the first girl; the last child, Giorgio, would be born ten years later.

In 1925, Mario partnered with his friend Amedeo Santolini, founding with him the first furniture company, initially housed in a wooden shack in the field behind the house, where the Hospital now stands.

 

The Piombini-Santolini company performed well enough to deserve, about ten years later, the gold medal at the Turin Exhibition, and the certificate attesting to that recognition is still proudly displayed at the current company headquarters.

The first furniture shops in Bovolone. (Around the 1930s-40s)

Tra i bovolonesi che appresero l'arte dei mobili ad Asparetto da Giuseppe Merlin... ricordiamo Mario Carmagnani, Giuseppe Perazzani, Mario Pettene detto Coco, Tullio Vedovelli detto Napa, Giuseppe Masaia, Giobatta Pantano, Remo Guarnieri detto Tamao, Giuseppe Padovani detto Braghin. Già nel 1930 il Pantano, col Padovani, il Carmagnani e il diciassettenne Liberale Vaccari detto Lale, già allievo del Grella, aprivano una loro bottega a Bovolone; nel '34 il gruppo si scioglieva e il Vaccari faceva società con Gino Veronesi (detto Muci), che pure aveva frequentato la bottega del Merlin ma più tardi, come Leonello (Nelo) Vicentini: in quella bottega lavoravano Giglio Mariotto (S'cinco), Raffaello Morellato e Vittore Novarini. In seguito, il Pantano, da giovane apprendista di Antonio Grella, aprì al Persegarol una bottega poi proseguita dai figli, il Padovani mise su bottega alla Madonna col Novarini e un certo Peroni, mentre il nominato Guarnieri tenne poi un negozio di tabacchi e quindi aprì una maniglieria a Verona. Alcuni dei sunnominati furono anche a lavorare, per qualche tempo, presso il laboratorio più grande e col maggior numero di addetti, già prima della guerra, quello di Nello Vicentini (all'inizio socio di Giuseppe Olfi) alla Casella, che ebbe tra i suoi operai anche Severino Cantiero, Giuseppe (Вері) Mirandola, e altri ottimi marangoni; presso il Vicentini lavorarono anche il citato Vedovelli, divenuto esperto lucidatore, e il Veronesi, che poi si sarebbe messo in proprio a costruire bombati in bianco. Costruivano sedie in stile Gino Sargenti, il Perazzani citato e Vittorino Carmagnani.

The other shop with the highest number of employees was Mario's
Piombini, which was not in competition with the top manufacturers because it produced modern furniture; even before the war, it had equipped itself with a large band saw and a seven-combination planer, which were sometimes also used by some traditional furniture makers specializing in style furniture to whom it had granted the use of the large room above the workshop.

The Piombini company sold its products locally to private customers, but above all to Italian retailers such as Picasso in Genoa or Paolucci in Pesaro, also through sales agents like Pompilio Zavanella from Nogara, a former student of Merlin in Asparetto.

The relationship with the latter was one of active collaboration, because the Bovolone company supplied him with modern furniture with which Merlin replaced the antique furniture he purchased in many homes; on the other hand, Piombini resold to Merlin any old or antique furniture he took back when selling the modern pieces.

The business was now fully underway, and in Bovolone it could rely on two fairly well-stocked timber dealers (Zago and Bertolazzi), although the international sanctions imposed on Italy had limited the choice to domestic woods and substitutes such as plywood and blockboards, while for the different types of products the corresponding wood species and the label certifying the use of "autarkic wood" were required.

The war events led to the dissolution of the Piombini-Santolini company, and Mario Piombini continued the business alone, assisted by his sons Bruno and Renato: he was too old to return as a soldier, while they were still too young to be called to arms. Finally, Bruno was ordered by the Germans of the O.T. (Organisation Todt) to work first on the large anti-tank ditch of Caltrane, then in Montorio, where, however, he occasionally had his brother substitute for him for a few days.

In the workshop, the activity was languishing (the saw and plane had been buried to avoid being requisitioned); during the frantic phases of the retreat, Mario was wounded in the side by a shot fired by the Germans: his transport to the hospital, which was less than a hundred meters away, was very laborious and quite dangerous, taking the disproportionate time of an hour and a half.

The Heart of the Tradition of Veronese Artisans

For 100 years, everything has come from the skilled hands of Veronese artisans, who with passion and precision bring timeless furniture to life. Each piece tells a story made of worked wood, hand-painted, and carefully protected, ready to arrive in the heart of your home. We select only what best represents our tradition, the craftsmanship that has distinguished us for generations and makes us unique. Here is a selection of some products to celebrate with Piombini customers.

  • CLASSIC

  • MODERN

Classic cherry sideboard with two drawers and two inlaid doors Arte Piombini

€2.390,00
€4.593,00

Classic Modular Living Room Mobile Wall in Cherry Inlay Art Piombini Large

€6.290,00
€10.612,00

Classic Cherry Showcase Inlaid Two Doors Arte Piombini

€2.990,00
€6.481,00

Classic Cherry Wood Container Chest with Art Inlay

€2.190,00
€4.220,00

Classic Cherry Wood Double Bed with Upholstered Leather Capitonné Headboard

€2.790,00
€6.088,00

Classic Double Bed in Cherry with Carved Headboard – Arte Collection

€2.390,00
€4.562,00

Modern Shaped Sideboard Three Doors Walnut with LED Modigliani

€3.090,00
€5.957,00

Modern Walnut Shaped Credenza with Four Doors and LED Light Modigliani

€3.580,00
€6.786,00

Small Modern Sideboard Three Doors in Walnut Marble with LED Modigliani

€2.490,00
€4.806,00

Modern Shaped Walnut Wood TV Stand with LED Modigliani

€2.990,00
€6.039,00

Modern Shaped Wooden Walnut TV Stand with LED Modigliani

€2.690,00
€5.121,00

Modern Modular Wall in Walnut Wood with LED Modigliani

€7.490,00
€14.181,00

Modern Showcase Two Doors in Walnut Wood Modigliani

€3.190,00
€6.517,00

Modern Shaped Walnut Wood Container Dresser with LED Modigliani

€2.980,00
€5.832,00

Modern Double Bed in Walnut and Leather Modigliani

€3.680,00
€7.190,00

“Ever wondered how we create our coffee? We’d like to reveal a few secrets. From coffee’s discovery
to the ways we harvest our beans today and make the perfect selection for slow roasting,
the history of coffee might surprise you. “

100 YEARS OF HISTORY AND GREAT SATISFACTION