VERSILIA IN A CHAIR
(MADE TO GO FAR)
An icon—the Piastri director’s chair. A young entrepreneur has taken it over and now aims to take it beyond the beach. Bartoli: “The goal is to invest to double production and expand into international markets.”
In late-summer Versilia, as beach establishments begin to thin out and human presence fades, it is the beach setups—the umbrella, the sunbed, and the chair—that take center stage on the sand. Accessories that, like the typical wooden, textile, or PVC director’s chair of Forte dei Marmi, not only express the identity of a place but today also become a business idea.
The distinctive chair was conceived in 1961 by Maurizio Piastri, an artisan who passed away recently and who, until 2023, made the “Piastri Regista”—as it was soon nicknamed—one of the symbols of the coastline in his workshop in Marinella di Sarzana. A practical object: at the end of the season it folds away with minimal bulk, comfortable thanks to its armrests and backrest, and an outstanding expression of Italian craftsmanship.
Allegra Bartoli fell in love with the project and, since last year, has chosen to carry it forward by investing resources and ideas. Born in 1995 and originally from Pietrasanta, this young entrepreneur—with a background in fashion between London and Milan—has taken over the Piastri business. Together with Jacopo Bracchi, Matteo Goich, and her father Michele—who runs the Pietrasantese bar in the “Little Athens”—she has taken on its legacy with the aim of preserving the values and craftsmanship that made the Piastri name renowned, while giving it new possibilities of use and new markets.
“Living in Pietrasanta,” Bartoli explains, “I’ve always been surrounded by architects and people with a strong sensitivity to design. It wasn’t difficult to fall in love with the Piastri project. Maurizio’s production accompanied my childhood: his director’s chairs, even when they weren’t being promoted, could be found—and still are—in all the beach establishments here. Our family bar has always chosen to use these seats, and customers love them: they often ask who makes them and how they could get even just one.
When the opportunity arose to take over the business together with my partners, we fulfilled a dream that is now ready to grow. We moved the workshop from Marinella di Sarzana to Corvaia (a hamlet of Seravezza, not far from Forte dei Marmi) and retained the two artisans who worked with Maurizio. To this day, the chairs are still handmade—from assembly to the finishing of the wood. The textile parts are sewn by hand. We have also revived Piastri’s original color palette to produce some PVC chairs which, already this summer with our first productions, have sold well.
As for the logo, we chose to brand it into the wood so that it would be clearly visible on the frame.”
Some figures on production, then. “I can say,” the entrepreneur continues, “that our current capacity is four thousand chairs per year, but our goal is to reach ten thousand. In September, funding for small and medium-sized enterprises should become available: at that point, we would like to make a significant investment to increase production and also focus on international markets.”
The work of the new Piastri has only just begun, but there are many ideas already in progress. “We are thinking, for example, about taking this product beyond the summer season, using alternative fabrics and materials to personalize the director’s chairs—from velvet to leather. We are also considering bringing them beyond the seaside, into cities. Some architects in Northern Europe have already chosen them for art galleries. It would be wonderful to see them in homes as well and, why not, in our museums: an Italian product that serves a purpose—offering a seat to visitors or staff—in a place where Italian art is admired.”
