Carlo Belgir e lo sfilato siciliano a Milano #12
Founded in 1890 by Carlo Belgir, from whom it takes its name, the company initially focused on the research and sale of antique lace and trimmings such as borders, inserts, trimmings, and doilies. Only later it expanded into ready-made and ready-to-wear products such as curtains, tablecloths, and bedspreads, becoming one of the most important and respected companies in this sector, which is definitely under-regarded and under-explored, yet capable of establishing surprising collaborations with some of the most renowned exponents of design culture.
From Vittorio Zecchin to Giulio Rosso, from Fausto Melotti to Franco Albini, from Tomaso Buzzi to Giovanni Gariboldi, lace and embroidery, once a feminine practice firmly anchored in historical styles, became a testing ground for selected manufacturers. In Venice with Pia di Valmarana, in Cantù with Manifattura Riunite Merletti, in Milan with Carlo Belgir, considered a point of reference due to its frequent appearances at the Triennale and in the pages of Domus, in collaboration with the Milanese decorator Giovanni Gariboldi. Mythological scenes, figures, objects, and animals, re-imagined with subtle irony, adorned tables and furniture with renewed energy, as in this richly stitched tablecloth border design from 1933.
And it was precisely the variety of stitches that determined the success of the project, its legibility, and implicitly the execution and economic value of the piece. Prodigious weaves have been preserved and handed down in their places of origin scattered throughout Italy, as in this tea tablecloth embroidered on net using the Sicilian drawn thread technique. Commissioned by Carlo Belgir from an island manufacturer and designed by architect Alfio Fallica on a cotton backing, it features a hunting scene repeated on each side, where a slender tree and a sky streaked with light clouds set the background for to two dogs which are running, while being watched closely by the hunter, as they attempt to catch their prey.
Complete with six napkins also embroidered with a portion of the scene, the extremely refined execution outlines both the landscape and the figures involved: the different types of nets and stitches, interrupted by small circles of different sizes, suggest lush foliage laden with fruit that the elegant trunk barely supports, just as the clumsy hunter seems to exhibit clothing worthy of a real hunting trip due to the richness of the details.
Alfio Fallica (Paternò 1898 – Catania 1971) was one of the designers who participated in the competition announced for the 4th International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Art (the future Triennale) entitled 36 progetti di ville di architetti italiani. Many leading figures in Italian architectural culture participated, from Gio Ponti to Franco Albini, Piero Bottoni to Nicolay Diulgheroff, Piero Portaluppi to Gino Levi Montalcini. With his design for a Villa sull’Etna, Alfio Fallica emphasized his Sicilian origins by paying homage to the “a muntagna” and by using lava stone for the external skirting, Melilli stone for the wall slabs, and white limestone from Syracuse for the ornamental statues.
Inside the long vestibule, there are Ragusa stone cladding, smooth plaster walls and ceilings, and a decoration depicting a dynamic and unique hunting scene, the same one we find enriched with the background landscape in the tablecloth commissioned by Carlo Belgir, which can therefore be dated around 1930.
The volume 36 progetti di ville di architetti italiani with a preface by Gio Ponti, is the only record of the competition of the same name, launched as part of the IV Triennale of Monza, which was never followed by the construction of any building. It is an exceptional document for its rarity and editorial quality: in its gold-lettered canvas cover, each project is illustrated with a color perspective table and numerous exterior and interior drawings.
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