Carvers, sculptors and architects for four centuries
The activity of the Fantoni di Rovetta as marangoni or magistri lignaminis is documented from the 15th century. The first recognisable personality in the genealogy of the Fantonis working as woodcarvers harks back to the 15th century. It was Bertulino de Fantonis, recognised as the progenitor by local tradition and 18th-century historical literature. Family business is again documented around 1630 with the work of Andriano (1563–1633) who, together with his brothers and son Donato (1594–1664), displayed a repertoire and frequency of commissions such as to suggest production in a workshop had begun. Donato’s son, Grazioso the Elder (1630–1693), thanks to his numerous offspring and his unquestionable artistic and entrepreneurial talents, produced the decisive shove behind the workshop’s cultural and productive take-off beyond the borders of the Bergamo and Brescia mountain area. The structure of the workshop, with its permanent staff of masters and specialised workers, has a strictly family pattern for the Fantonis and, consequently, an economic and productive trend dependent on the rather large number of blood relatives involved.
Around 1685, Grazioso was able to count on the collaboration of his sons Andrea (1659–1734) and Donato (1662–1724), both returning from an apprenticeship period in Parma, followed, for Andrea at least, by a stay in Edolo, with the carver Pietro Ramus. The eldest sons were gradually joined by other brothers Giovan Antonio (1669–1748), Giovan Bettino (1672–1750) and Giovanni (1674–1745) and, from amongst the sisters, at least Caterina (1666–1711). In 1680, the wardrobes of the first sacristy in the Basilica of Alzano Lombardo were completed, followed in 1692 by the execution of the carvings and statuary of the second sacristy under the direction of Andrea and in collaboration with the workshop of Giovan Battista Caniana.