long-established family sculpture workshop in Pietrasanta
Marble Studio Stagetti is a long-established family sculpture workshop in Pietrasanta whose roots go back to 1959, when Ivo Stagetti and collaborators founded the original Stagetti & Ciambelli workshop. The studio was built around the traditional local practice of hand carving marble and ornamental stonework. In 1994, Nicola Stagetti took over the family business and developed it into the present-day Marble Studio Stagetti, later joined by his brother Antonio, his son Sebastiano, and specialized collaborators.
The studio is especially interesting because it deliberately combines the traditions of the Pietrasanta bottega with modern technology. Studio Stagetti uses 3D scanning, digital modeling, photogrammetry, CNC machinery, 3D printing and a seven-axis robotic arm, but regards these technologies principally as tools for developing and roughing out the work. The studio states that sculptures are subsequently finished by hand by skilled stone carvers, preserving the visible human contribution that automated machining cannot reproduce.
Studio Stagetti works with international artists on projects ranging from monumental sculpture and classical reproductions to sacred art, portraits, architectural decoration, fountains, design objects and private commissions. The studio can begin with a sketch, bozzetto or existing physical model; develop clay or digital models; enlarge or translate the work into stone; assist with material selection; and follow a project through production, transportation and installation.
For the Sculptors Lexicon, Studio Stagetti is an excellent example of the modern Pietrasanta bottega: traditional stone knowledge and hand finishing have not disappeared, but are being used alongside contemporary digital production methods.
Studio Directory
Studio Information
- Studio type
- Bottega
- Location
- Pietrasanta, Lucca (LU) Tuscany Italia, Italy
- Address
- Via Martiri di Sant’Anna, 14
- Website
- http://studiostagetti.net
- studiostagetti@gmail.com
- Telephone
- +39 335 6196346
- Visiting notes
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Studio Stagetti is an active professional sculpture workshop, so I would recommend contacting Nicola or Sebastiano Stagetti in advance before planning a visit.
For a practicing sculptor, this is a particularly worthwhile bottega to see because the production process illustrates the meeting point between traditional hand carving and contemporary technology. A work may begin with a sketch, clay model, scan or digital model, be developed and roughed in marble with modern machinery, and then return to the hands of experienced stone carvers for its final surfaces and details.
The studio is therefore useful not only for artists looking for assistance producing work in marble, but also for understanding how the historic Pietrasanta workshop system is adapting to robotics and digital fabrication without abandoning the finishing hand of the sculptor and artisan.