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Italian Stone Carvers
Barre, Vermont
Most of the work of cutting and carving granite in Vermont was done by Scottish and Italian immigrants. The most delicate carving was generally carried out by the Italians. As children, the Italians had worked in the stone sheds in their native Milano. They went to school at night to be carvers and if they had the skill and good luck, by age 25 or 30 they might be allowed to carve on their own. Many moved to Vermont and found work in the quarries and stone sheds of Vermont. Even in the heyday of mausoleum construction, from 1880 to 1920, there were only a few dozen carvers doing the intricate work.
The January 9, 1926, edition of the Boston Evening Transcript presaged the end of the grand mausoleums, reporting, “There are but five carvers now, and only one man to move their statues over the country and never chip a corner. But will there ever be another Fayette Cutler, who will move anything under the sun, or another Tozi, or Mori, or Sanguinetti, or Corti, or Melnati?... A little known race of artists is passing; there are none to take their place.” |
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