History

The Moirano saddlery was opened in the 1930s by Giuseppe Moirano. He had worked several years as an apprentice at an important local saddlery and having learnt the techniques necessary to create harnesses of superior quality, decided to open his own laboratory in his hometown.
The passion for his work induced him to pursue improvements and so, besides making harnesses of all types and for all uses (including the historical Carneval of Ivrea), he learnt to restore carriages for noble families by using materials with stylish designs bringing them back to their original splendour.
In the 1960s when technology imposed new life styles and most saddleries were forced to close down Giuseppe's two sons, first Felice and, a few years later, Giacomo joined their father to maintain the family tradition, aware as they were that it would have been their legacy with the past and the ability to hand- make high quality products to lead them into the future...and they were right!!
When Giuseppe retired he was proud to know that his sons would have maintained his commitment, and at present Davide, Giacomo's son, is beginning to follow their footsteps.
Both brothers work at the making of the harnesses with different tasks: Felice makes historical research on books or paintings for the harnesses to be used for singles horses, or teams, for work and, most of all for presentation, competition and traditional contests.. He also projects harnesses following customers' drawings or specific requests, assuring the correct balance of all elements for both the horse and the driver.
Giacomo is in charge of making the collars which are still padded with rye straw and covered with fine leather (following his father's method) and he also takes care of the finishing of the buckles made in different styles and of different metals (even in sterling silver) as in the past.
Both brothers, then, check the final product- as being hand made no one harness is exactly the same as another - to guarantee and deliver only long-lasting and high-quality harnesses.
Today many collectors still own harnesses made by Giuseppe Moirano in perfect conditions.
For a long time the Moirano Brothers worked only for the Italian market, but after taking part in the fair of Verona in 1982 the quality of their work became well known and gained success on the international markets, too.
They successfully took part as exhibitors at the World Championships in Germany in 1997 and in Rome in 1998.
In 2000 Moirano was called to work in the USA for a famous collector who also introduced the Moirano brand into that market and got them to take part in the conference of Hot Springs in Virginia in 2002.
At the moment the Moirano harnesses are on display at Harrod's in London where only fine products are hosted.
The Moirano brand means quality and excellency and their products are known and appreciated by enthusiasts world widely.

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The historical Carnival of Ivrea

The historical Carnival of Ivrea is a unique event. It evokes the Medieval times when the city (only a few kilometres from our hometown) was governed by a tyrant who, according to the legend, was killed by the miller's daughter, the heroine of the Carnival, so triggering the people's revolt.
Nowadays this episode is celebrated during the famous "Battle of the Oranges" - a symbol of the rebellion of the people (the orange-throwers on foot) against the tyrant and his soldiers (orange-throwers on wagons).
Many characters take part in this Carneval, but the horses play a very important role when they accompany the characters during the whole celebration or when they pull the wagons through the battle.
The feast involves all the people of Ivrea and surroundings, and the horse owners do their best to have the most elegant horses, turnout and therefore harnesses. They start preparing their horses months ahead because during the three-day festival the horses will have to be physically at their top.
All the participants use harnesses with an English collar. Each year the number and quality of the turnouts increase more and more: infact there are totally about 50 turnouts of pairs and fours-in-hand. At the end of the Festival, a jury of Italian and international experts will choose the best turnout basing their judgement on the beauty of the horse and harness and the style and ability of the driver.
The harnesses have the traditional ostrich feathers chosen according to the colours of each team on the saddle and bridle. Another decorative element is the harness-bell that signals the arrival of the horses among the crowd. Moirano's harnesses made for the Carnival have been specifically designed for this occasion in an elegant 19th century style which is very appreciated in this area. They are very decorative, but at the same time, they are strong and resistant enough to bear the weight of the wagon and stress of the battle.
The harnesses are mainly in black leather and patent leather, but recently some tobacco coloured ones have been requested. The buckles mostly used nowadays is round, flat or oval nearly always chromed.
A wide range of styles and colours of harness bells and different models of saddle bells are available.
Once Carnival is over the best team and four-in-hand are awarded a prize and every year we are very satisfied to know that our works are appreciated by qualified judges.
Our story begins here where tradition and passion for horses are deeply rooted.

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