Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli

The Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli has trained mosaicists in Spilimbergo since 1922, sending their work from Rome to New York and Jerusalem. Its chronological gallery runs from Greek and Roman floors to contemporary panels, alongside workshops where students cut tesserae and practise a river-stone tradition.

Why it matters

Mosaic became central to Spilimbergo's civic identity. The school opened in 1922: on 22 January, first director Antonio Sussi held the inaugural lesson before 38 students. The mosaicists' cooperative had been constituted in 1920 with the support of Milan's Società Umanitaria, and the school aimed to give the stone workers of the Friulian riverbeds a modern profession. From those classrooms came the teams that covered Rome's Foro Italico in thousands of square metres of mosaic, restored the Lourdes basilica mosaics, executed 345 square metres for the dome of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and created "Saetta Iridescente" for the World Trade Center PATH station in New York.

The school remains a working institution, not a museum piece: its own history page counts students from 22 nationalities. Teaching and production continue side by side: the exhibits are displayed close to the classrooms and workshops where new work is made.

What to notice

The school’s chronological gallery traces mosaic from Greek and Roman origins through Byzantine work to contemporary experimentation. Its three sections correspond to the three years of study. Contemporary works, including pieces by artists of Friuli Venezia Giulia, are displayed on the first floor; classrooms and open workshops are part of the working school, alongside its library and aula magna.

A local signature is the use of smalti and stone from the gravel beds of the Tagliamento and other Friulian rivers.

Context and history

The school's origins reach back further than 1922. Friulians had worked Venetian floors for centuries — the Confraternita de' Terrazzieri was recognised by Venice in 1582 — and Gian Domenico Facchina of Sequals, active in Paris, perfected the reverse mosaic technique patented in 1858, decorating buildings from Lourdes to Tokyo. Lodovico Zanini and mayor Ezio Cantarutti helped bring the school into being. It received early recognition with the Diploma of Honour at the Monza International Exhibition of Decorative Arts.

Commissions in Rome during the 1920s and 1930s established the school’s reputation. In the 1950s, hundreds of young people cycled into Spilimbergo to learn the trade. The school has had its premises on via Corridoni since 1932 and is dedicated to Irene di Spilimbergo, the sixteenth-century pupil of Titian celebrated as a painter and poet. Recent decades brought the Jerusalem dome lining, the New York station commission and restorations from Venice's railway station to L'Aquila, keeping the export tradition intact.