Stucco History

The art of applying stucco on walls is a very old technique. Stucco is used as a decoration and protection for walls, or as a homogeneous substrate for decorative paint jobs.

The Romans learned the art of stucco decoration from the Etruscans and Greeks. Ancient Greeks used stucco both as an architectural substitution of the stony structure for their temples and as a substrate for wall paints. Roman architecture developed proper materials, so much that their stucco is still considered the best for strength and durability today. Romans developed the triple function of stucco: decorative, pictorial, and plastic. With the growth of the Roman Empire, the use of stucco evolved as a plastic raised decorative element as well as a beautiful wall covering.

The highest point of beauty has been touched by stuccos in Venice, where great masters studied mixtures of plasters based on lime and cocciopesto. These plasters give more breathability and permeability to the substrate, and are resistant to the moisture and the saltiness that is typical of Venice. Venetian masters modified the ancient recipes inherited from the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. Continuous research on the resistance to aggressive atmospheric agents caused them to turn Venetian stucco into a unique product that serves both as a durable surface, and a decorative finish. They invented a stucco resistant to the city's harsh environmental conditions.

Over the years, Safra researched ancient recipes meticulously for reproduction, offering the market natural products with high architectural value. Furthermore, Safra developed products with the same chromatic effect and materials of the ancient stuccos and paints, but formulated to apply them on modern substrates, where walls are not able to receive the same recipes.

ArteNova is the decorative line, which Safra has gone close to the limit of the impossible to respect and keep the old recipes. Technology gives us the chance, to reproduce them with modern materials. This makes it possible to satisfy the needs of modern architecture, as well as restoration.