This is the earnest drive that inspires us every day to create beauty through our craft and business activity, and to return it to the territory that welcomes and inspires us with its own beauty, made of history and culture, nature and community.
That’s why as Goretti srl we have long since chosen to adhere to Art Bonus, a state initiative aimed to support companies wishing to contribute to the restoration and conservation of public property, thus becoming patrons of the cultural heritage.

We always bring much of our territory into our work and collections. The Art Bonus project gives us in return the opportunity to connect even deeper with the village and the community we feel part of. It is also the opportunity to get you to know the uniqueness vibrating in the heart of Serra de’ Conti and of our community, a uniqueness reflected in Goretti’s identity and activities.

The village of Serra de' Conti in an old photo.

As a matter of fact, by taking part in the Art bonus project we have made our contribution to restore parts of valuable buildings that still play an active role in the village daily life, such as the windows and doors of the Town Hall, and to bring special places – where the treasure of popular memory is preserved – back to their ancient splendour, as for example the Antiche Fonti (Ancient Springs) and the Lavatoio (Washhouse) complex.

What makes this place so special that we are eager to let you know about it?

The answer lies in its great historical value, hidden behind an apparently simple look: the main building that protects the permanent water spring dates back to the end of the 18th century and, together with the washhouse nearby with its big pool covered by arches, tells a two-century-long story in which populations always relied on the fresh water flowing from here as a gift to relieve their thirst, quench the one of the fields and wash their laundry. As modernity approached, the focus of daily life moved elsewhere, and the action of time and nature exasperated the marks of neglect. Through Art bonus, Goretti facilitated a restoration intervention aimed at reinforcing the building, cleaning and consolidating each one of its elements, and restoring the original beauty of the whole structure.

The springs and the washhouse before and after the restoration.

The answer also lies in the invaluable human heritage of this place, an heritage of social history collected over generations: at the Lavatoio an essential part of the village life took place and blossomed, that’s to say the life of the women in charge of carrying out the hard laundry work. When the first rays of dawn appeared, the laundresses were already on their way to the washhouse, carrying laundry baskets on their heads and determined to gain the best place at the pool to wash their dirty linen while singing traditional songs, sharing intimate secrets, recipes and gossip, and reflecting on their life lived in humble poverty – a condition that there, at the washhouse, could at least meet freedom.

A picture from the 1970s, when the springs were still used to wash laundry.

The washhouse was a place of hard work, but also a place where many different people met: thus, restoring the Antiche Fonti and the Lavatoio complex means to us restoring the legacy of those past women’s voices, which still resonate in that mix of hard work and deep humanity that shapes the identity enshrined in the memories, character, and culture of the inhabitants and the community.

This same mix also nourishes, by affinity, our nature as Goretti: we are proud of the similarities that bind us to the heritage of values cherished in the ancient washhouse, such as the wide participation of women, who every day take part in the company business by sharing meaningful life stories, thoughts and ideas about their work and expressing their creativity.

Through Art bonus we also contributed to the restoration of the Torre Civica (Civic Tower) of Serra de’ Conti. Anyway, we won’t reveal any details here: we prefer leaving your curiosity about this place still unquenched, as it has such a special symbolic value that it deserves a new story to welcome you into our world.