The artisan is the keeper of an ancient knowledge and his handiworks are artistic expressions, are history, are culture. The artistic craftmanship of our region – Abruzzo – holds our essence and expresses the creative spirit, the diligence, the hard work, the care, the passion, the soul of our land. A community that protects the value of what is good and beautiful combines the spheres of ethics and aesthetics in an ideal kalokagathìa. The art is intended as an estreme act of inner freedom, and - quoting Oscar Wilde - “what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons and a possession for all eternity.”

The artisan-artist gives a spirit to the matter, relies on traditions, on the ability to create enchantment from simple materials, often poor, and is open to dialogue with new cultures to create new life, to bring a message of commitment and brotherhood.

Therefore, it is necessary to reveal the identity of the artisan from Abruzzo to the world and to increase the value of the works of art created by skilled hands that express the genuine heart of this land. The positive energies must be strengthened: the ArtItalia innovation Pole can be a catalyst, a detonator.

The Pole, managed by the consortium company ArtItalia, was created by Regione Abruzzo and cofinanced by the European Community, started its activity in December 2013 with 64 members and included among the founders institutions like Casartigiani, Intercredit and Consorform; today it counts 395 associates.

The Pole represents business sectors of great interest: goldworking, ceramics, stone, marble, iron, wood, leather, wax working... With two offices and four workshops on the regional territory, it aims at facilitating the aggregation among its members, the exchange of knowledge, skills and technologies, credit access and internationalization processes.

Another prerogative of the Pole is to involve small and medium-sized enterprises in direct and indirect community projects and to facilitate the start-ups of young artisans.

The participation of the Pole in Expo 2015, thanks to the precious partnership and the scientificcontribution in the field of innovation of the University of Teramo, is a chance to give a central role to the actors of craftmanship, who preserve the extraordinary know-how that is the result of the experience of several generations, a heritage of unique craft traditions that represents the basis of “Made in Italy”.

The Pole proposes at Expo 2015 a multimedia, interactive, multilingual platform, integrated with social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), that is intended to be a mapping, a tale about Abruzzo, able to develop a narrative journey about art crafts located in the most beautiful villages, in orded to arouse the interest of local and international actors, exploring the peculiar characteristics of this land: history, landscapes, food, wine and craftmanship.

This is the revelation, this are the aims of the Pole: to discovery and exploit, promote and communicate the excellence of the territory.

For this purpose many interviews to the artisans of the Pole with the “storytelling” technique have been realized. They have told their own stories and explained the uniqueness of their products. Stories of life and art have been spread by press, tv, web and social networks.

The Pole is therefore an extraordinary opportunity for individual growth and represents also the driving force for the economic development of craftsmanship of Abruzzo.