HERITAGE
The House of Ercolano
Music boxes have been made in Sorrento for generations. Ours continue that tradition — the same wood, the same patience, the same marriage of marquetry and melody.
THE SORRENTO TRADITION
An art older than the town's fame
Inlay did not begin in Sorrento — Benedictine monks brought it to the coast centuries ago. But it became the town's own, handed from master to apprentice, until it beat in the heart of Sorrento. My grandfather learned in that lineage. So do I.
MILESTONES
The line, in brief
1957
Giuseppe Ercolano opens his workshop in Sorrento.
1997
The Artists line is born — vivid artwork, hand-lacquered onto wood.
2018
The third generation takes the bench.
Today
Music boxes made by hand, shipped from Sorrento to the world.
Giuseppe Ercolano · Sorrento
THE FIRST BENCH
Giuseppe Ercolano
This is Giuseppe Ercolano — my grandfather — at his bench in Sorrento, cutting inlay by hand with a fretsaw.
The family was already in the trade: his father Orlando sold Sorrento inlay, but never made it. Giuseppe was the first to pick up the saw. He learned the craft in the workshops of the town, then opened his own — and everything we make begins there, at that bench.
The family was already in the trade: his father Orlando sold Sorrento inlay, but never made it. Giuseppe was the first to pick up the saw. He learned the craft in the workshops of the town, then opened his own — and everything we make begins there, at that bench.
The same bench, three generations on
A craft kept in the family
From Giuseppe the workshop passed to his son Orlando, and then to me. I carry my grandfather's name.
The skills behind an Ercolano box — shaping, lacquering, inlaying, tuning — are still learned at the bench and passed from hand to hand. The tools have barely changed, and neither has the pace: slow, precise, entirely by hand.
The skills behind an Ercolano box — shaping, lacquering, inlaying, tuning — are still learned at the bench and passed from hand to hand. The tools have barely changed, and neither has the pace: slow, precise, entirely by hand.
EXPLORE
Carry the tradition home
Every music box you choose keeps a Sorrento craft alive.
