French & Italian

Different in culture and design, each country has its own unique vernacular when it comes to the chimneypiece. The French mantel tends to be more lavish and less architectural overall, with a more embellished and landscape form. Often considered the forefathers of the English chimneypiece, the Italians created chimneypieces that are more monumental in scale and higher in stature, often with more intricate design predominantly executed in sleepy, smoke-drenched stone.