Wood craftsmanship is art: a journey through the production of unique objects, the art of marquetry, the decoration of churches, the incredible doors of historic buildings.

The splendid doors of the historical buildings of the city, being considered a distinctive sign of the image of Todi, have always been preserved and restored over the centuries. Walking around the town you can meet many of them, set in arches stone or framed by pilasters and moulded architraves, surmounted by the coats of arms of the local noble families or enriched by anthropomorphic decorations and faces, always without overdoing the magnificence as the good customs of the time imposed. The metal parts are also of considerable workmanship: the doors, hinges, latches and locks decorated by local master blacksmiths and smelters, strong of a renowned reputation thanks also to Domenico Cucci. This Tuderte craftsman, cabinetmaker, smelter and engraver worked at the court of King Louis XIV, the Sun King, and made various furnishings and decorations in Versailles, in particular two lockers of Florentine semi-precious stones, now owned by the Duke of Northumberland and kept in Alnwick Castle in England, famous for having been the set of the Harry Potter films and the Downton Abbey series.

The doors of the walls of Todi were also built and fortified by the two workers: the hinges, the armouring with iron plates and wooden bars that consolidated their inviolability, the doors to control the travellers who wanted to enter, the chain of the main door, with its two enormous windows, which served to regularize the passage of the wagons, were all designed and created by local craftsmen.

The art of woodworking in Todi has ancient origins, we have news of the corporation of Magister lignaminis, cabinetmakers and wood craftsmen, already since 1282.

The master of wood was not a simple craftsman and his work was indispensable in many activities: in fact, in addition to designing and building furniture, he worked as a woodcarver, inlayer and carpenter for the construction of scaffolding for building use.

The University of Carpenters, whose memory still survives today thanks to the confraternity of St. Joseph, was active since the 14th century and in the following centuries mainly in the execution of works for public orders such as wooden altars and decorations, doors and gates of churches and buildings. The confraternity, in 1642, had the church of San Giuseppe built in Via Santa Maria and with it their new headquarters, from here began a long and prosperous period of activity.

Another place where wood handicraft developed in Todi was undoubtedly the Istituto Artigianelli Crispolti, born in the second half of the 19th century. From a boys' orphanage it became a real school of arts and crafts where young people between 8 and 10 years old were trained in the techniques of typography, tailoring and especially of Tudertina Ars Lignaminis by the best artist of the moment, the master Filippo Morigi.

Thanks to this particular artistic ferment, Todi became famous for the production of furniture with eclectic and sophisticated styles that combined Gothic characters and Renaissance lines, a tradition that lasted until the seventies of the twentieth century.