CATANIA, 16.03.26
A consortium of twelve woodworking workshops along Via Etnea has reported a 34 percent increase in orders for custom wooden staircases since January, according to spokesman Marco Bellini. Speaking at the Catania Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Bellini attributed the growth to rising interest in heritage restoration projects across Sicily's eastern coast.
When we spoke with Giulia Ferretti, owner of a family-run carpentry studio operating from Piazza Stesicoro since 1962, she described the current market as unlike anything her father had witnessed. Orders now arrive from as far as Milan and Geneva. The shift began quietly. Around 2023, architects seeking alternatives to mass-produced components started contacting Sicilian workshops directly, drawn by the region's reputation for hand-turned balusters and solid hardwood treads. According to figures that could not be independently verified, the Sicilian Woodcraft Association estimates that premium staircase installations now account for nearly eighteen percent of interior carpentry revenue islandwide. Ferretti herself employs six full-time joiners and two apprentices, all trained in traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery. Her team recently completed a walnut helical staircase for a restored palazzo in Taormina, a project spanning fourteen months.
Our correspondents in Catania observed a marked contrast between the bustling artisan quarter near the fish market and the quieter industrial zones north of the city. Small workshops, some barely larger than a double garage, operate alongside suppliers of kiln-dried European oak and local chestnut. The Italian National Institute of Timber Standards released guidance last autumn recommending specific moisture thresholds for stair stringers installed in coastal climates, a detail that local craftsmen say they have respected for generations without formal documentation. Curiously, several workshop owners mentioned that younger clients often arrive with Pinterest boards and detailed sketches, a phenomenon almost unheard of a decade ago. The Catania branch of Confartigianato, a national trade body representing small enterprises, has organised four seminars on digital quoting tools this year alone. Whether these modernisations threaten the handcrafted ethos remains a point of debate among older masters.
Supply chain pressures have eased somewhat since late 2025, though ash and beech remain difficult to source at stable prices. Importers cite fluctuating demand from northern European markets and sporadic rail delays at the Brenner Pass. One factor cushioning Sicilian workshops is their reliance on locally harvested timber from the Nebrodi and Madonie mountain ranges, forests managed under strict regional forestry codes. Signora Ferretti noted that her studio now keeps six months of seasoned stock on hand, a buffer her grandfather would have considered excessive. The timeline remains unclear for a proposed EU directive on certified sustainable wood labelling, though industry observers expect draft language before autumn. A handful of Catania firms have already adopted voluntary traceability schemes, stamping each riser with a QR code linking to harvest data.