About UsThe time is just a few years after the end of the First World War. All of Europe is going through hard times and the reconstruction of Italy, whose northeast area is still far from being the economic engine of the country, is in the midst of its worst crisis. It is in the year of the Gentile Reform, 1923, that Oreste Fracasso was born, the first son of Amedeo, part of a family dedicated to iron working for over five generations. Obliged to take the final high school exams set forth by the reform and at the same time help his father at work, Oreste spent his youth between school and the workshop, in fact giving up any diversion in order to dedicate himself to both activities. This disposition did not change upon finishing high school, when work and studies continued to alternate. The long days in the workshop, followed by drawing and design courses represented a mix of theory, practice and sacrifice, leading Oreste to be a cut above the rest. The deep wound left by the First World War had still not completely healed when one of the worst catastrophes in modern history hit the Old Continent and the whole world in general. Oreste, who had just turned fifteen, together with the entire population, watched the Second World War bring the entire economy and organization of the “Bel Paese” to its knees. The stage for bloody battles, the conditions of Italy at the end of the conflict were extremely harsh. About one-fifth of national heritage was destroyed and the roads basically no longer existed, if not in the memories of those who had peacefully travelled them only a few years before. The entire labour force of the country, until that point focused on the mass production of arms, had such a hard time recovering that production indices in 1945 had fallen by 70% for industry and 40% for agriculture compared to 1938. |
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