Maintaining Historical Integrity

The Chiurazzi Foundry has established a unique legacy in the world of ancient works of art. For more than a century, the Chiurazzi Foundry has cast many of the world’s most famous sculptures using old-world techniques and timeless attention to detail.

The Chiurazzi Foundry was established in 1870 by Gennaro Chiurazzi first apprentice of Pietro Masulli, the famous Neapolitan sculptor. Masulli conceived of and put into practice the idea of replicating ancient works of art in all their splendor, drawing his inspiration from Benvenuto Cellini’s virtuoso methods.

Chiurazzi founded an art school in the Reale Ospizio dell’ Albergo dei Poveri in Naples, and through his hard work succeeded in endowing Naples with two permanent galleries for ancient art, the first in the Galleria Principe di Napoli, the second in Piazza dei Martiri.

In these galleries, art lovers admired and purchased replicas of significant works from Pompeii, Ercolano, and Italian museums from the Renaissance and Helenistic periods. Soon thereafter, Gennaro Chiurazzi traveled to the United States to attend the 1904 World Exhibition in St. Louis, generating recognition of his efforts in Naples, as well as garnering accolades in the American press.

Federico and Salvatore Chiurazzi continued their father’s work in the 40 years leading to World War II. This ‘golden’ age gave birth to the traditional replication of classic works.

These high quality replicas, which were possible thanks to the prestigious work of the artists who had been trained at the Chiurazzi’s artisan school, met the continuous flow of demand from abroad. While the war in 1939 impeded the ability of the Chiurazzi Foundry to create their classical sculptures, the foundry was able to remain openand emerged intact after the war to resume its great work.