Casting Marvels Out of Fire

Sculpture comes to life at la Fonderia Del Guidice Leonardo near Greve in Chianti.

The exterior of the Fonderia Del Guidice Leonardo offers us no clues to the wonders inside.  Located in a small industrial compound just outside Greve in Chianti, it is one of several non-descript buildings crowded together under the Tuscan sun.

Separated into two spacious rooms with tall, cathedral-like ceilings and iron walkways, this busy workshop vibrates with intention and skill.

It's dubious exterior hides the astonishing sculptures and work going on behind the door. The second we step inside, we begin to grasp why the fonderia is a haven for local and international sculptors working in bronze, brass, and aluminum fusion. 

Separated into two spacious rooms with tall, cathedral-like ceilings and iron walkways, this busy workshop vibrates with intention and skill. The first room is where most of the “soft” work gets done.

Here artists come to sculpt and plaster molds are created.  It’s stuffed to the brim with plaster proofs and finished bronze works. Art bursts from every corner. 

Sarah, one of the directors, waves to us. She's helping an Australian artist with some preliminary processes, so her brother Giacomo steps in to act as our guide.  He leads us into the next room. Right away we spot the forge, a giant cauldron glowing with molten metal. 

Established by Giacomo and Sarah’s father Leonardo in 1974, Fonderia Del Guidice Leonardo was first focused on replicating Renaissance sculpture for art dealers. 

Giacomo patiently walks us through the process of lost wax casting, the foundry’s bread and butter.  From start to finish, casting is fascinating and complex. 

In the 1980s, they expanded into working with contemporary artists who have since consistently come to Fonderia Del Guidice for the kind of collaborative attention that makes for outstanding art.

Sculptures cast here over the last fifty years are on display in private and public places as well as in museums throughout Italy and other countries.

Giacomo patiently walks us through the process of lost wax casting, the foundry’s bread and butter.  From start to finish, casting is fascinating and complex. 

Along the way, he shows us  sculptures in all stages of creation, including many fully finished pieces: some super-human and majestic statuary and others whimsical and arresting, such as miniature girls at play, each beaming bright with life and yet at the same time stilled into a warm bronze  Creating art of this kind requires one to think differently about time.

"We like to think we are a little anachronistic. In a world that sometimes goes so fast, we still stop to observe and value what the hands can do." Giacomo Guidice.

On the fonderia website, which we highly recommend for the striking photos, video, and explanation of their work, Giacomo says, “We like to think we are a little anachronistic. In a world that sometimes goes so fast, we still stop to observe and value what the hands can do. In this way, ours is no longer just a practice of a trade, but also a  cultural and social education.”

We stop to watch the red-hot metal get poured into molds. The viscous fire shines like gems. This is not a one-man process. Three people maneuvered the heavy, hot equipment, including Sarah’s son. 

When they finish and set the now-full molds aside, Giacomo turns to us with a proud smile. The metal will now cool for several weeks before being stripped off the mold and buffed down.

Being allowed to wander in the storage room was the true highlight for us. Lofted high above the studio on a metal catwalk, it holds generations of work. There are hundreds, most likely thousands, of different sculptures, many of Jesus Christ and other major historical saints and figures.

As we make our way through, we find it difficult to focus on just one face or detailed hand. Getting to walk among these vibrant pieces  is a  breathtaking experience we will not forget.

We stop to watch the red-hot metal get poured into molds. The viscous fire shines like gems

Near the end of our visit, we chat with Sarah and Giacomo. It’s obvious how much love they both have for this fine art and craft and their family’s long devotion to it.

Their life’s work is dedicated to making an artist’s dreams a reality, solid and permanent. But this mission is a dream for them too.

Giacomo says he’s proud of his self-identity as a “country boy.” Yet at the same time, he tells us, when he’s here in the studio working with artists from every country, he gets to see the world.

by Wren Bonham and Cryptid Parke, writing and promotions interns at La Macina di San Cresci, with contributions by Elizabeth Sargeant and Kathlene Postma.