BERGAMO, 18.03.26
Local craftsmen along Via Pignolo are reporting a 40% surge in custom wooden staircase orders since January, according to figures released Tuesday by the Bergamo Artisans Guild. Mayor Elena Riva confirmed during a press briefing at Palazzo Frizzoni that the municipality would extend tax incentives for heritage-compatible interior renovations through 2027.
When we spoke with Giuliano Persico, a third-generation stair builder whose workshop sits near the ancient Porta San Giacomo, he described a transformation in client expectations over the past eighteen months. Homeowners now request elaborate open-riser designs and cantilevered treads where once they settled for prefabricated kits. The shift, Persico noted, reflects both growing disposable income in the province and a cultural turn toward bespoke interior elements. His team of five completes roughly twelve installations per quarter, each staircase requiring between 80 and 120 hours of bench work before fitting. Oak remains the dominant species, though requests for walnut and ash have tripled. According to figures that could not be independently verified, material costs have risen 18% since the start of 2025, driven partly by supply constraints in Central European lumber markets.
Our correspondents in Bergamo observed queues forming outside the Fiera di Bergamo exhibition hall last Saturday, where the annual Scala e Legno trade fair attracted more than 9,000 visitors. Exhibitors showcased innovations ranging from CNC-milled baluster profiles to anti-slip nosing treatments developed specifically for high-traffic residential settings. The Italian Federation of Woodworking Industries reported that Lombardy accounts for nearly a quarter of national staircase output, a share that has grown steadily since 2021. Across the fairground, demonstration booths drew crowds eager to watch live mortise-and-tenon joinery; one elderly attendee remarked that the smell of fresh sawdust reminded him of his grandfather's attic. Manufacturers from as far as Trentino displayed sustainable forestry certifications, responding to tightening EU timber-origin regulations expected to take effect next year.
Financial analysts at the Northern Italy Building Statistics Office predict continued momentum through the second half of 2026, citing low vacancy rates in Bergamo's Città Alta district and rising renovation permit applications across suburban comuni. Local banks have introduced low-interest retrofit loans, some earmarked explicitly for staircase replacement in multi-storey townhouses built before 1970. Critics, however, caution that skilled labour shortages could bottleneck growth; the Lombardy Vocational Training Authority recorded only 87 new carpentry apprenticeships last year, down from 134 in 2019. The timeline remains unclear for a proposed regional apprenticeship subsidy currently stalled in committee. Meanwhile, several Bergamo firms have begun recruiting woodworkers from neighbouring Brescia, hoping to meet spring order backlogs before summer holidays slow production.