Arte 2000 becomes historical handcrafted workshop in Veneto

It was with great pride that on 26 June 2023 we received from the Veneto Region a further recognition, namely that of Historical Craftsman Workshop with corresponding enrolment in the Veneto’s Register of Historical Craftsmen Enterprises. This status is provided for by a Regional Law that establishes the ‘Rules for the protection, development and promotion of Veneto craftsmanship’.
The Facchini family’s activity has been linked to the world of stone for more than a hundred years. Emilio Facchini, grandfather of Stefano Facchini, was born in 1988 in Levade di Portole in Istria and in 1922 bought the stone quarries of San Stefano in Portole, which he owned until 1943 when, due to the war, he had to leave Istria.

Stone quarries of Emilio Facchini in Portole in Istria around the thirties

The Istrian region was a Venetian possession for many centuries. Indeed, Venice ruled over Istria continuously from the 12th century until the fall of the Republic in 1797.
The Venetians and Istrians therefore share a huge cultural heritage. To this day, one of our most representative works, to which we are strongly tied, depicts the Lion of San Marco. A bas-relief of the Lion of San Marco “in moeca” was also affixed at the Casa Facchini entrance in Levade di Portole.

Bas-relief affixed to the Facchini’s Villa entrance in Levade (page 94 of the book “Il Leone di San Marco in Istria” – Alberto Rizzi)

It is for us now an emotion-filled honour to officially bear witness to a family tradition that seemed lost and abandoned due to wartime conflicts. It will be even more inspiring to tell the story of our profession while preserving the link with the past and with our history.
This, too, is a new milestone achieved, through commitment, perseverance and dedication to an ancient and ever-living craft, while remaining loyal to tradition.

Tradition is not a fire stoked by others that warms for a moment – it is collecting from oneself what can make it burn and warm for a long time. (Stefano Facchini)

We have told our story and our past on the Company page.