Italy, Tuscany – Giacomo Burroni head-to-head with present-day and ancient Thruscan civilization
Interview by Ally Ferraro / ally_ferraro
Guilherme Ferrari / gferrari____
By the 6th century BCE, some of the richest burials in the Mediterranean world were located in central Italy. The Etruscan necropolis—or city of the dead—was a parallel universe to the city of the living.
“We must be able to perceive our past in ourselves, while facing the future.”
Tuscany during your teenage years? Were they “I bei tempi”?
In my life and in my working career Tuscany has always played a more than fundamental role. Its beauty has always rocked and inspired me in everything I have ever faced.
The good times were an incredible era that I personally lived only in their final part, but living them was crazy, even if unfortunately now we are in a completely different system of work. What I saw and experienced in those years will always remain in my heart and soul.
Are you concerned about the disappearance of traditions?
Traditions are not disappearing at all ... It’s on to us to keep them alive inside and show them to the world with pride and passion. Traditions will never die, they are part of our roots and will always flow through our veins.
What did Italy transmit to you?
Italy always sends me everything, for better or for worse. We are a beautiful country that always inspires me. We must be able to perceive our past in ourselves, while facing the future.
Compassion and transparency, two of the values to learn in Italy and that you transmit through your collections. Would you say your work is a tribute to your land?
They are absolutely both very very important values and I want to carry them forward together with my work. Everything I carry inside I put it in my collections. I always try to create something that leaves a mark, but that stays as close as possible to our roots. We need to know where we come from to understand where we want to go.
Are there any innovations in jewelery making that have changed the way you work?
I am a real lover of craftsmanship. Innovations will always be there, but only as means to reach a goal. What we really need is to look inside them. There is everything we need.
There is a contemporary influence in your pieces, where does your inspiration come from?
From the world of the ancient Etruscans! They are my ancestors and they are also my guides who lead me into the future ... We find their techniques in a modern key in my creations. We must remain humble and work well!
How do you describe your creative process?
It's not an easy thing to explain... I feel something in my soul and I always try to hear it very clearly. From there I proceed with the first drawings by hand, then I check and go on ... I always have to thank the people I work with, they are true goldsmith masters.
What changes would you like to see in jewelery in the future?
I would like the circle to close and return to a retro taste, but always walking forward looking for our evolution. The cycles return, each of us must interpret them. It's all a matter of personal values.
