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1962

OUR STORY
BEGINS

Tarcisio Ambrosioni, stubborn forger and scissors maker, in 1962, for health reasons, must leave his dear Premana to search for alternative solution...

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Codega's factory in Premana

Codega, a little Italian factory
 
This firm borne in Premana at the end of the big war in 1919 by Nicola Codega, 1889 class. Grandpa Nicola during his childhood worked has a shop boy in one of the forger shops in Venice, here qualified workers were employed. The burst of the war in Libya see him soldier in Africa. During the First World Conflict (1915-1918) he works at Aermacchi of Varese. Gone back to his native town he starts to work has a cutler; forge and emery grinding wheel down the river finishing bench in Premana. Nicola sets up a flourmill too where wheat is hardly cultivated in this area.
The first electric motor which arrives in Premana its grandpa's and it will be used not only to turn the flour mill but also for the work shop, in the meantime installed in the same place today used. Between the years of First and Second World War, the number of employee changes depending the needs, the work is totally manual, he makes jackknife, gardening-knife also pots, oil-lamps and many other objects which are useful for every day life. Nicola has three sons, only Ubaldo will go on with the father's activity. First sixties, the employees are Grandpa Nicola, Ubaldo and his son Nicola, afterwards helped by his brother Roberto: strictly family conduction.
At the moment the employees are four, the production is mainly cutting articles like jackknives and billhook,  which are used in agriculture and sheep-farming, that is "poor articles".
Many of these have names of regions, countries and area of northern Italy; it would be suggestive to imagine works design from different areas, incredible is to find products from different areas now gathered together only in one place. Some samples:  Bergamasco knife, Piemonte knife, Valtellina and Aosta billhook, Alto Adige and Tremezzina sickle, etc. 





It has been maintained - I don't know why maybe for virtue or necessity - a manual production saving the old work shop too. Often schoolchildren and groups of persons visit the Museo etnografico of Premana and the Codega's firm in order to see and understand old working methods and examples of forging. Now the amount of knives produced in a year is about 25-30.000, even if helped from machines its still a real "artisan product". I'm bound to this firm because of our common origin and their knives production "Bergamasco" shape, that I think beautiful and essential. "Bergamasco" is the typical knife of the province that host's my activity for 40 years. 
Today I require "Bergamasco" knives from famous artisan from all over the world and every time a unique example using Codega's products as samples.
 
Eligio Ambrosioni