Folding panels and Secretaires - Florence - Italy
Falegnameria Biagioni - Antique furniture and objects

Secretaires and folding panels

"Legend tells that once upon a time all the gods gathered to decide the best place to hide their precious gift to humanity. There were many suggestions: in the sky, in the depths of the sea, in the forest, in the middle of the desert...but they realised that none of these places was safe enough. Finally, thinking about the limitations of human beings, they understood that the place they were least likely to search was inside themselves..."

Making our most precious possessions invisible inside our own home can give us the feeling of being protected in our most intimate place, and so bestow on us a deep serenity.

It is even more wonderful to think that we can do all this using the art of illusion and mystery, rather than resorting to the "violence" of safes, strongboxes and armoured doors.

Falegnameria Dario Biagioni - Florence: an example of a secretaire bookcase with folding door

The line between visible and invisible in the creation of secret places is found in the tombs of the ancient Egyptians, buildings with no apparent access where the pharaohs could rest in peace with all their treasures, and also in the catacombs of Rome during the Christian Period, where initiates in the mystery could travel, hide and communicate in secret.

Again, these techniques recall the secret passages in the medieval palaces and cathedrals of Central Europe, or the Renaissance "trompe l'oeil" paintings which hid the doors to secret closets where the most wondrous art and the most valuable jewellery was hidden.

Secretaire Bookcase

In today's modern world, it is wonderful to re-introduce the intrigue of these mysterious ancient places to the heart of our own homes, where walls, bookcases and dividing walls can be adapted and shaped to hold the treasure chest containing our most beloved possessions.

Bookcase with folding door - another example of a secretaire bookcase

And all this is possible thanks to a happy marriage of passion, craftsmanship, artistic skills and a love of beautiful things, in the search for external beauty but also, and especially, internal beauty.

Opening and closing systems

There are two main options for an electronic system for opening and closing doors, bookcases etc.:

with a small remote control;
with a magnetic card which is swiped at a chosen point to activate the opening.

However, it is also possible to use a simple wooden wedge which serves as a linchpin to block the mechanism.

Falegnameria Biagioni - Florence - Secretaire Bookcase

Secretaire Bookcase

Folding panels and Secretaires - Florence - Italy Falegnameria Biagioni - Antique furniture and objects

Secretaires and folding panels

Opening and closing systems

Folding panels and Secretaires - Florence - Italy
Falegnameria Biagioni - Antique furniture and objects