Biography

Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi (1767 – 1855)

Genoese furniture maker, best known as the inventor of the Chiavari chair.

Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi was born in Chiavari in the Republic of Genoa in 1767, the son of a cooper. He was called “il Campanino” (“the bell ringer”) because his grandfather was the bell ringer of the church of Bacezza. Descalzi was apprenticed to one of the best master carpenters in Chiavari and became a master craftsman himself.

In 1795, he opened a furniture workshop with his brother. In 1796, he received a silver medal from the Chiavari Società Economica, founded five years earlier by the Marquis Stefano Rivarola, for two wooden chests of drawers he created.

In 1807, Rivarola challenged Descalzi to design a new modern chair based on a chair he brought from Paris. Descalzi created a simple, practical and elegant design for a cherry wood chair. The chairs were both light and sturdy .Descalzi exploited traditional knowledge and developed new manufacturing techniques. Chairs using the « Chiavari » design became extremely popular and were purchased by many monarchs of the time. Descalzi’s furniture designs won numerous medals at trade fairs professionals.

His sons, Emanuele and Giacomo, and their descendants continued the industry of manufacturing “Chiavari” chairs. Many other factories opened their doors in Chiavari and surrounding towns, and continued the manufacture of « Chiavari » chairs and other furniture.

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