Wrought iron, tradition and vision

The spread of wrought iron has been historically difficult. The first evidence of the use of iron dates back to 4000 BC. and undoubtedly the Iron Age was a huge step forward for man. In ancient times Sumerians and Egyptians limited themselves to the manufacture of small objects such as spearheads or arrows. The history of wrought iron was born many centuries later, when it was realized that the mass of molten iron had to be heated again to be forged and modeled. The figure of the blacksmith took on great importance and in Roman times the field of application was diverted from the military to the civil sector.

Even if metal tools and weapons have been known for a couple of millennia, the use of iron for non-common objects and architectural decorations is decidedly lagging behind other forms of crafts such as woodworking or ivory . The discovery of the hot ductility of iron and its infinite artistic possibilities gave birth to the east the wrought iron genre. In Europe, France and Spain first began to beat and shape iron in circles, twirls and scrolls in the 12th century, but it was later, in the Gothic era in France and in the Renaissance period in Italy, that they reached peaks of excellence, especially in religious art. . From here in later times it also spread to other countries.

Although the magic of wrought iron has also had periods of obfuscation throughout history, technological progress has failed to put aside this beautiful art and it is the emergence of the liberty style that definitively consecrates manufacturing production in the modern era.

We at Gaia consider ourselves as poets in the manufacture of wrought iron. Every day in our forge we transform the raw material into real works, giving life and shape to ideas and projects that were previously unthinkable. Thanks to the ability of our craftsmen who with hammer, anvil, skill, experience and fire create artifacts that hand down and innovate, always with respect, the techniques of the past.