Marino Menegazzo
il Maestro
MARINO’S STORY
Marino lives and works in Venice, where he was born in 1954. After studying metalworking, Marino learned the ancient craft of goldbeating from his father-in-law
What is gold leaf?
Every piece of gold leaf takes more than eight hours to make by hand.
The finished product is 200x thinner than human hair.
The material is used on some of the world’s most important monuments including St Mark's Basilica (Venice), The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (Los Angeles), La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona),Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (Lourdes), and many more.
Marino is the only craftsman in Italy—and perhaps Europe and beyond—who still makes gold foil by hand. Machines produce brittle and less desirable products. Clients strongly prefer Menegazzo’s foil, which is considered the gold standard.
If he can’t find an apprentice before he retires this year, this important craft will be lost to the ages.