In the past, it was not difficult to find farmers, pastures and craftsmen who knew how, for necessity or pleasure, to work with wood. Whether it was a simple walking stick with engraved initials, a doll for the children or a common household item: everything was made at home or in the village. In the Italian-Switzerland ethnographical museums, we can find numerous objects carved from maple, ash, chestnut and walnut wood.
The mountaineers carved and inlaid collars for animals, butter presses, cutlery and polenta plates; in the kitchen there were wardrobes, chests, wooden spoons, sideboards; for children they built decorative cots, toys, small chairs; farmers used the ?cadola? to carry wood and various goods.
There are also crucifixes, small caskets, spinning wheels,and decorative objects? Today, artisan woodworking does not answer an immediate need, but it is part of the rediscovery of rustic mountain traditions and is well suited to the new sensitivity to natural materials, particularly evident in the creation of toys which are beautiful, resistant and ecological, as are the kitchen utensils (cutlery, containers).
Over the past decade, the use of the lathe has widened the possibilities of woodworking, though ingenuity and manual skill still play the main role.
