FLORENTINE BRICK TILES AN ANCIENT
ART
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Design with Florentine brick tiles
The tiles look specially good, of
course, when matched with elegant antique furniture, but equally
pleasing have been the numerous original attempts to harmonize
the old-style tiles with the best in modern functional design.
The problem created by the use of ceramic porcelain for decorating
the outside of Buildings, is of particular relevance these days.
The greatest difficulties are, the need to stand up to freezing
weather conditions and to surface wear. Manetti' s tile have demonstrated
that not only do they fulfill the above conditions, they are in
no way affected by the abrasive action of sand or the salt air.
The formats you can choose are many and come in all normal sizes:
square, oblong in the 14th century style, octagonal, rectangular,
for planking boards, as well as step, corners for terrace and
swimming pool edges. Each tile, the result of a careful drawing
process, is a masterpiece of precision craftsmanship; some of
the formats are finished completely by hand, pressing the earth
between specially designed wooden forms. This method hasn't changed
over the centuries, and still turns out tiles which are a "must"
for modern artistic floor-work as much as for restoration of antique
floors.
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The history
Among the many human
achievements which give, and have always given, Tuscany its special
place in the history of mankind and his aesthetic aspirations,
one of the characteristics is perhaps the famous Florentine brick
tiles. It abounds all over the region, in churches, palaces, and
even the medieval dwelling which are now so popular as country
residences, either as an actual building material or as a decorative
element. We even find it being used to pave the streets and squares
of the medieval towns. Brunelleschi's cupola (in Florence), the
most outstanding "building" in the whole of Tuscany, itself does
justice to the ancient tradition.
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The town of Impruneta (FI) has always
played an important part in the history of the Florentine brick
tile-industry. The first terracotta artefacts, in their original
coarse state or glazed with a leaden varnish, were undoubtedly produced
some time before 1308, when the first mention of them occurs in
the town's records, during a meeting of the "jug and pitcher" makers
to reform the statues binding their corporation, or guild. Manetti's
origins are not perhaps quite as lost in the mists of time as the
Impruneta guild's, but the present firm a, was established in the
last century. Professional architects and technical design studios,
building firms and Ministry of Works officers have always recognized
in the tile range of Manetti, the sort of thing that makes choosing
a tile from the limited range available on the market a far less
playful operation than would otherwise be the case, given the quality
required for high-class flooring today.
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Manufacture
Gusmano Manetti was the first person
to get the brilliant idea, back in 1926, of polishing the famous
Impruneta tiles, convinced that in this way he would increase
the possibilities for the use of this famous product far beyond
what anyone had dreamed of up till then. He in fact discovered
what is today a common process, the use of a graded series of
diamond grinders: so when we hear of Florentine brick tiles being
honored with the epithet "precious", we know that it's not really
being misapplied! Where our clients require only a semi-polished
finish, we have a special hand-polishing "rustic" process which
give the tiles a distinctly "rustic" and "medieval" look, just
like the old 15th century floors so familiar in the noble city
palaces of Florence. In the brick smoothed and polished, then
it is quite sufficient simply to take especial, care with the
initial wax (like Fila wax, available in our pages on our request)
treatment, after which the tiles don't require any particular
looking after at all, and will imply grow more beautiful with
age.
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In our Web pages you can find thickness
floors because it's less expensive shipping and laying this The laying
is easy and this is possible whit the normal flooring gluing agents
also over old floors, (a novelty), and once laid, you can't tell the
difference between our tile and the traditional heavy Florentine brick-tiles.
Howe where it' s available all products of Manetti Florentine brick
tiles to our store or after one week beside your request. |
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