Bronze is one of the materials most widely used, today as in the past, in order to make both useful decorative items and artworks.
Lost wax casting is held to be the most accurate and reliable method for making items, sculptures or bronze monuments. It was already known in ancient times by the Egyptians and the Greeks, as we can see from drawings and monuments of the times. Basically, this method involves making a wax reproduction of the original model created by the artist, and then making pouring channels (risers) in this wax. The complex is then covered with refractory material, and the mould is fired in a kiln.
During this stage, the wax melts out, leaving a cavity which reproduces it in negative, where the bronze (or another metal) will be poured in, thus taking the shape of the original model. When the metal has cooled down, the mould is opened, and the artwork is finished using chisel and patina. The process described above has not undergone any major changes during the centuries.
The lost wax technique appeared in Pietrasanta over a century ago, as a natural completion of the marble craftsmanship, through the initiative of casters from Florence, who moved their business there.
During the years, the type of products commissioned has changed. During the first stage, church production was the main source of orders; however, as the years went by, national and international artists visited Pietrasanta, contributing – with their requests – to the constant refinement of the techniques, and to making the foundries extremely dynamic in their capacity for adapting to the various needs of their customers.
Today, production ranges from small decorative casts – architectural or artistic – to large monuments.
The materials which can be used are bronze, aluminium, nickel silver, silver or iron. Partnership with other craftsmen, such as sculptors-enlargers and mold makers, makes it possible to develop works based on projects or drawings by customers, in the fields of sculpture and architecture, or in that of any genre