Ferramente Forte: A Slice of History
The dozen wood screws I bought were neatly wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, instead of packaged in a zip-lock plastic bag. That little packet was a memento from a frugal and simpler past, and in some respects a bit of history.

Even if it has been located at the same address since 1931, you might pass this small hardware store tucked into a corner of Vasto’s Piazza Rosetti without noticing it. The only hint that there is a business there is the unpretentious sign hanging alongside the door “Ferramente B. Forte. When I walked into this store for the first time and was warmly greeted by its owner, it was as though I had wandered into a time warp that transported me back to an age that I remember well, before there were airport sized shopping malls, electronic transactions on the internet, or ready-to-assemble furniture from Ikea.

Having passed through three generations, Ferramente Forte is perhaps the oldest store in Vasto’s Centro Storico and, through the decades, has managed to preserve its personal atmosphere and character. It has witnessed and withstood all the changes that have taken place in the piazza and in town. Even if its stock has kept pace with the times and modernized, it is otherwise unchanged in the ninety-five years of its existence. All the available space in its dimly lit room is utilized from the floor to the ceiling and lined with shelves and drawers brimming with anything you might need to build, fix, repair and maintain a house or garden. There are nuts and bolts, hand tools, plumbing and electrical supplies, fasteners, locks, latches, nails, screws, stains, polish and paints and a thousand other things, all stacked and displayed in the same way as they might have been, when the current owner Vittorio Patriarchi’s grandfather, Biagio Forte founded the store in the early 1930’s. A skilled woodworker and furniture maker, his business idea was to supply the town’s many tradesmen and artisans with the supplies they needed for their work.

Biaggio’s knowledgeable grandson Vittorio carries on the tradition of responsibility and service that have been passed on through the generations, values that represent the heart and soul of a community but are disappearing throughout the Western World at an alarming rate. Italy lost upwards of 100,000 small businesses during the past decade, a trend that has a noticeable effect on local economies, especially in the historical town centers, where small shops keep the business district alive and attractive.

The commerce that these small businesses create are vital for the tax revenues that fund basic services, and the opportunity for personal meetings, that actively stimulate a sense of shared values and community pride, the intangible traits that are the touch stones of the Italian way of life.

The Societal Importance of Local Businesses.

Small businesses play a significant role in a town’s social structure. A family-owned business like Ferramente Forte, represents continuity in a community and sense of responsibility to its customers. Like many small businesses it echoes an age when shopping was not only an occasion for a necessary purchase, but also a chance for a social meeting between a buyer and seller, that not only filled a commercial function, but a shared cultural one as well.

The town of Vasto is no different than towns and cities in other parts of the world, where there is a reluctance on the part of young people to take on the responsibility of entrepreneurship, but there is a glimmer of hope for the future. As the third-generation owner, Vitorio Patriarchi took the store Ferramente Forte into the 21st century. Just a few years before the store’s 100th anniversary, the great granddaughter of Biagio Forte, Federica Patriarchi will take over when her father retires. It is not only a tribute to her great grandfather Biaggio Forte, but gives a youthful breath of life and initiative to Vasto’s historic town center.

The years pass, circumstances and demographics change, but one generation guiding the next, remains the lifeblood of a family, and a successful society.