The gold standard: Foglie d'Oro

The Italian region of Veneto has been known for centuries for its cabinet-making tradition as well as its work ethic. Around 50 km north of Padua, in the town of Rosà, the Brotto family has been patiently perfecting its woodworking skills, generation after generation. Since 1966, they’ve built a company consisting of multiple parts. One, Arte Brotto, produces all typologies of furniture for both contract and private markets, while another arm of the company, Foglie d’Oro, manufactures high-end and bespoke wooden parquet flooring.

This success relies heavily on wood sourcing. Cooperating with properly and responsibly managed forests, three sawmills in Hungary and Romania provide the raw materials – 100 per cent FSC labelled – to Foglie d’Oro. The proximity of those facilities plays a big role in helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the end product, but it also allows Foglie d’Oro’s team to precisely verify the efficiency of tree-felling and reforestation plans on a regular basis.

This is the team that is also responsible for the ageing process. All timber is aged for up to two years onsite, prior to being transferred to Foglie d’Oro’s HQ in Italy. There, they are carefully dried in special kilns until they reach the optimal humidity level. This precaution is mandatory to ensure resistance and long term stability of its wood products.

Only then does it become part of the company’s 50,000 m3 of stock, a fabulous wood library, where professionals can choose whatever tree species they need for manufacturing precisely the textures and patterns requested by their customers, and with a broad range of additional options and finishes. This whole process is supervised by Latifoglia, another branch of the Brottos’ company, which has become a leading manufacturer and seller of wood worldwide.

At this stage in the process, Foglie d’Oro’s skilled team of craftspeople enter the picture. First, they use ultra-precise cutting machinery and laser-focused eyes to transform raw timber into a standardised form, displaying natural textures and patterns.

From this point onwards, specialised skills play a decisive role. Hand-planes are employed to make surfaces perfectly seamless, giving the parquet wood an organic feel and touch – something industrial products just can’t compete with.

After the planing process, each sheet is sandblasted by hand, before the final pattern-engraving stage for which Foglie d’Oro’s relies on the latest CNC milling technologies. The product is then assembled marquetry-like.

This deep knowledge when it comes to wood is central to Foglie d’Oro’s artistic direction. With this material and these skills at its disposal, in-house designers can create beautiful patterns and effects. Azalea is the manufacturer’s latest and most intricate product.

This pattern adds a contemporary twist to inspiration drawn from nature, a core value in Foglie d’Oro’s DNA. Adding brass, marble or wengé wood inlays underlines the beauty of the panel’s geometric shapes, but the metal also captures light to brighten interior spaces.

Marble inserts inside the petals also bring a hint of brightness and preciosity. The perimeter of the petal module can be fully highlighted with brass, marble or wengé, or partially with brass at the ends to offer a different visual effect. And depending on the mood a designer wants to give a room, they can choose from three species: American walnut, European Walnut or oak.

The level of craftsmanship offered by Foglie d’Oro as well as its experience with high-end projects, has also attracted the attention of one Italy’s top interior designers, Marco Piva. Piva’s studio is based in Milan but works internationally on luxury shops and residential projects and on objects for prestigious manufacturers, and the architect plans to soon unveil the results of a collaboration for Foglie d’Oro – an antique art, wood-parquetry collection due to be launched in 2021. Watch this space!

© Architonic