1961: Albrici & Paderni
Apparently the necessity of Antonio Albrici to work in Florence was written in his destiny, even though he was, however, unable to leave his work in Brescia due to his father Angelo need of a well-deserved rest.
Antonio decided then to involve his dear friend Giovanni Paderni, a native of Brescia himself, who, with total confidence in Antonio, closed its restoration workshop in the city to move with his family to Florence, a city he had never seen before.
Giovanni was accompanied by a faithful young assistant, Francesco Nardone, still at work today and an important collaborator of the activity. In 1961 Albrici and Paderni snc was born, exploiting a time of continuing economic rise and undergoing immediately an intense work.
The large influx of foreigners in Florence, especially Americans, who visited and bought house in town, continually brought buyers in the store.
Giovanni used to return to Brescia weekly to retrieve new goods to sell, where Antonio was in turn engaged in buying and selling, in part to enrich the many rooms of the store in Brescia and partly, in the case of goods more suited to traditional Tuscan market or international flavor to the store in Florence.
Antonio as well went sometime again to Florence, where his friend Giovanni had become the ideal partner to lead the Florentine company.
It was then the period of the great international exhibitions, in particular the famous and sought after Florence Biennale; there were many colleagues that since the previous months were looking for the most valuable pieces of the XVI and XVII century, from chests to commedes and safes , and many were the private customers who on the occasion of the exhibition visited the shops of the historic centre.
Giovanni always told Antonio about the renowned customers coming into the store: artists, Hollywood actors, dancers and collectors, so many days of work and so many stories to tell.
Antonio, with the creative mind that characterized him, had long included the craft sector in the store, so to meet the different needs of customers.
Chairs, stools, dressers, mirrors, iron torch holders, bed headboards, fountains, fireplaces, decorative stones and Murano glass chandeliers were commissioned and realized.
A particular production realized over the years were the pewter accessories and the pewter and ceramic mugs, faithful reproductions of antique objects that were of great interest in the European market.
Giovanni Paderni, capable, lovable and above all reliable could support these decades of intense work with tireless presence, becoming respected and loved by both Florentine customers and friends and from Italian and foreign colleagues.
The store in Via dei Serragli 20R became a point of reference and an inevitable appointment for a visit to Florence.
Over the years, Giovanni enlisted the aid of two daughters in the store, until when in 2008, after more than two years of disease, Giovanni died, asking his friend Antonio to take the property of the company entirely.
After so many years Antonio found himself alone in a company that he thought in the natural destiny of his Florentine dear partner.
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