BERGAMO, 18.03.26

Local workshops along Via Quarenghi have reported a 34% increase in orders for bespoke wooden staircases since January, according to data released Monday by the Lombardy Artisan Guild. Speaking outside his atelier, master carpenter Enzo Battistelli confirmed that his team has already booked commissions through November.

The trend appears driven by homeowners renovating older properties in Bergamo's Upper Town, where narrow layouts and heritage restrictions limit options for prefabricated solutions. When we spoke with Dario Marchetti, a restoration architect based near Piazza Vecchia, he explained that clients increasingly request open-riser designs and cantilevered treads that blend with exposed stonework. His firm alone has specified seventeen custom staircase projects this quarter. Walnut and aged oak remain the preferred timber species, though requests for ash have grown noticeably. According to figures that could not be independently verified, one supplier in Treviglio shipped over 400 cubic metres of kiln-dried hardwood to Bergamo province workshops last month. The narrow streets winding through the Città Alta rarely fall silent before midnight; delivery vans now jostle for parking slots alongside espresso carts.

Our correspondents in Bergamo observed a steady stream of clients visiting the showroom of Scala Lombarda, a family-run manufacturer on Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII whose balustrade samples line floor-to-ceiling racks. Owner Stefania Ricci noted that younger buyers favour minimalist newel posts paired with slender steel spindles, while older customers still request carved handrails reminiscent of eighteenth-century estates. The Italian Woodworking Federation released guidance last month urging workshops to document chain-of-custody certificates for all timber imports, a measure aimed at satisfying EU deforestation regulations taking full effect in 2027. Ricci keeps a binder of certificates behind her desk, though she admits few customers ask to see them. Labour shortages remain a concern. Several workshops have raised wages to attract apprentices willing to learn traditional joinery techniques such as through-tenon joints and wedged stair strings, skills that take years to master.

Pricing varies widely. A straight-flight staircase in locally sourced beech might cost around €7,500 installed, whereas a helical design in American black walnut can exceed €35,000 once finishing oils and site modifications are included. The National Statistics Institute recorded a 2.1% rise in construction material costs across northern Italy during February, adding pressure to already tight margins. Several installers mentioned that supply delays on specific anti-slip nosing profiles had pushed back completion dates by weeks. The timeline remains unclear for a proposed municipal programme that would subsidise heritage-compliant interior renovations in the Upper Town; city councillor Matteo Volpi said final budget approvals may not arrive until autumn. Residents along Via Gombito, meanwhile, have begun pooling resources to commission shared stairwell refurbishments in their medieval apartment blocks.