1950: Growth

In the 1950s, Giusto began offering international consultancy for the British Museum and NASA. Then came another stoppage with the devastating flood of Florence, followed by another recovery. Led by Fabrizio, Lapo and Francesca, the company grew even further, with the turnover reaching € 9 million.

In the 1950s, Giusto’s children joined their father in managing the business: Fabrizio reinforced the company’s presence on the foreign markets, Lapo invented and developed the hot stamping sector, and Francesca introduced innovations to the administrative management. Meanwhile, the moment had come for Giusto’s expertise and passion to be acknowledged at the international level: in 1953 the British Museum turned to him for an expert opinion on the degradation of an Ancient Egyptian mummy’s coffin, which was entirely covered with gold foil, and in 1956 NASA sought out his gold leaf expertise for advice on gilding the nose cones of their rockets.

Giusto passed away in 1961, and just a few years later the company encountered yet another difficulty: on November 4, 1966, the River Arno broke through its banks and flooded most of Florence. The flood almost completely destroyed the company’s headquarters on Via Ponte alle Mosse. But, once again, the Manetti family refused to surrender: Instead, Fabrizio, Lapo and Francesca decide to use this opportunity to further renovate the plant and modernise the machinery and production processes. The three siblings remained at the helm of Giusto Manetti Battiloro until 1996, bringing its turnover to € 9 million.