BRESCIA, 15.03.26
Local carpentry workshops along Via San Faustino have recorded a 34 percent increase in orders for bespoke wooden staircases since January, according to data shared by the Brescia Chamber of Crafts on Friday. Speaking outside his workshop, master carpenter Enzo Baldini said demand now outpaces his team's capacity by three weeks.
Behind the numbers lies a shift in homeowner priorities that few predicted even two years ago. When we spoke with Francesca Lomi, a renovation consultant based near Piazza della Loggia, she described how clients increasingly request open-riser designs and floating treads made from aged oak or chestnut sourced within the Lombardy region. Many, she noted, arrive with photographs saved from architecture magazines, insisting on specific newel post shapes and curved stringers that require weeks of hand-finishing. According to figures that could not be independently verified, roughly one in five new residential projects in the province now includes a custom staircase valued above €8,000. The trend has pushed several smaller firms to hire apprentices for the first time in a decade. A warm afternoon sun filtered through dusty workshop windows as Lomi spoke, stacks of timber leaning against exposed brick walls.
Our correspondents in Brescia observed a busy scene at the Fiera di Brescia exhibition hall last Tuesday, where the Lombardy Woodworkers Guild hosted its annual trade fair. Attendance exceeded 1,200, organisers said, with exhibitors showcasing everything from CNC-cut balustrades to hand-carved handrail scrolls. Representatives from the National Institute of Building Statistics presented preliminary data suggesting that interior timber elements account for 12 percent of total residential renovation spending in northern Italy. Short supply chains have become a selling point. Buyers favour local ash and walnut. One stand displayed a sweeping helical staircase prototype that drew crowds throughout the morning, its cantilevered steps secured by hidden steel brackets beneath each tread.
Not everyone is optimistic about the pace of growth, however. Material costs have risen sharply since late 2025, driven by export restrictions on certain hardwoods and transport delays at the port of Genoa. The timeline remains unclear. Some workshops have responded by blending domestic softwoods with imported veneers, a compromise that divides opinion among purists. Regulators at the Lombardy Building Quality Authority have begun inspecting imported timber for compliance with moisture-content standards, slowing deliveries by an average of four days, according to a February memo obtained by this publication. Despite these headwinds, order books remain full, and several family-run firms report bookings stretching into autumn. A stack of invoices on Baldini's desk suggested his crew will not see a quiet week anytime soon.