From one workshop in the Napoleonic Era to a worldwide chain of stores that sell the Tuscan products

Anghiari is a charming Medieval village in the province of Arezzo, near the border between Tuscany and Umbria. It is also the place where the Busatti family founded their textile company, which today has stores all over the world. Since 1795 the headquarters of the family business is the same, Palazzo Morgalanti. Today offices, machinery, and archives are there. Because of its long history, Busatti is part of Unione Imprese Storiche Italiane – Italian Historical Businesses. In fact, the association born in Florence accepts as members only Italian businesses owned by the same family for at least 150 years.

In the beginning, Giovan Battista Busatti purchased Palazzo Morgalanti to open there a store to sell “anything marketable”. Only two years later the Napoleonic Army occupied the building.

In the basement, they started spinning, weaving too supply blankets, uniforms, and clothes to the soldiers. After the Napoleonic Era**, the Busatti family took back the Palazzo and with it, the weaving operation. In 1842, Mario Busatti adds eight wooden looms and a warping machine to the workshop, and from there the business kept on growing.**

Today, the company still works the rustic wool of the Apennines, Upper Umbria, and Casentino. The family calls it anti-cashmere, a non-soft and ultra-resistant fabric, ideal for custom-made jackets that will last over time. With linen, it also creates tablecloths, napkins, table centers, sheets, bedspreads, and upholstery. Expert hands finish and embellish these products with hemstitching, embroidery, and lace. The exclusive, high-end customization is one of the characteristics of the brand.

Each production phase takes place in Italy: from dyeing to spinning, to weaving.

Cover ph. From Busatti.com

Ilona Catani Scarlett