16th century Italian villa gets a PEFC-certified floor

3 October 2013 Sustainable construction

Forest certification entered into the history of art with the inauguration of a new floor in the council chamber of Quinto Vicentino. The first of its kind, the new floor is made entirely of chestnut sourced from PEFC certified forests in the Veneto region. 

But this is not just any city hall; the council chamber is hosted in the Villa Thiene, a 16th century villa designed by the celebrated architect Andrea Palladio and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The work was carried out by Profilegno Srl with the aim of showing that it is possible to create high quality products using local raw materials – with the wood coming from the forests of Valli del Pasubio, just 30 km from the Villa, and the spruce, found in the hidden layers, coming from Asiago, in the same district.

"The initiative of Profilegno and the choice made by Quinto Vicentino administrators represent an important testimony of how you can combine art, craftsmanship, responsible use of natural resources and economic growth of an area," said Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italy. "The more these good practices spread around Italy, the stronger the stimulus for our manufacturing base to embrace sustainability practices, and the use of wood raw materials from forests managed in a responsible way has an essential role. Palladio used local wood for his villas and in this era of globalization, with Italy importing 90% of its industrial wood consumption, having local and sustainable wood sourcing is the most logic decision for decision makers”.

"We are confident that this initiative will raise awareness on the issue of forest resources”, says Giovanni Bolcato, Head of Profilegno’s Technical Division. “It will make the public, administrators, architects and designers, as well as customers of the floors and walls, aware of this valuable choice. In this way they themselves will become the promoters to the public and the construction companies, helping to build a virtuous circle that will allow our manufacturing base to grow economically while protecting a valuable natural resource that we have at home."

A conference followed the inauguration of the chestnut flooring, presenting the advantages of short supply chains, strategies to use raw materials from the Veneto region, and the opportunities PEFC certification offers both businesses and the environment.