My wife and I recently returned from two weeks holiday in Italy. After reading Steve Latta’s great article “Elements of Federal” in issue 218 (https://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=33894) where he mentions the influence that the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum had on Federal design, I was determined to seek out these Federal ancestors myself. I’m very fortunate to have a wife who is more interested in Seymour and Sheraton than Gucci and Prada!

To be in Rome is to be immersed in history with 2000 years of architecture where ever you turn. The links with period furniture design are everywhere from common elements of carving such as the egg and dart motive (an Italian woodworker said their term is egg and lance) to the sausage and pea, to the delicate frescos at Herculaneum with their strong ressemblance to line and berry inlay (https://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=30016). Interestingly, British and American woodworkers in the late 18th to early 19th century developed different styles from their Continental counterparts who relied far more on paint and gilding than clear finishes. I’m not such a fan of the former but their’s no disputing the skill of the craftsmen.

If any reader wants details of museums we visited send me an email: [email protected]. I’d be interested to know what other museums, galleries, stately homes etc. around the world readers think have good furniture collections. Vacations are much more interesting when you can weave in your hobbies and interests. I also got to row on the Tiber in Rome, but that blog is for another audience.  

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