Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi (1767-1855). He was called il Campanino, because his grandfather was the bell-ringer of the church of Bacezza. Son of a cooper, craftsman, his production belonged to the tradition of master cabinet-makers in Chiavari (in dialect bancalari).When he was still very young, in 1796, the Società Economica of Chiavari awarded him a silver medal for building two wooden chests of drawers. In 1807 Marquis Stefano Rivarola, founder of the Società Economica (1791), suggested the artisans of Chiavari to create a new and modern chair, taking a model he had brought from Paris as a starting point. Descalzi created a new and elegant model, characterized by lightness, functionality and simplicity. It was the birth of the chair known as chiavarina or campanino. Even though Descalzi’s production did not limit itself to this item (he also created a new covering for wooden surfaces, put slate in table inlays and invented a particular painting), his chairs became very famous and were appreciated by all the sovereigns of the time – from the Savoy sovereigns, to Francesco Bourbon of the two Sicilies, to Charles of Prussia, and Napoleon III. The industry was carried on by his family: his sons Emanuele and Giacomo, and several grandsons and great grandsons.
