Our Marcelli family love affair (yes, it’s that special) with this exceptional Italian olive wood began over 12 years ago, in the Umbrian village of Assisi. While strolling the streets of the upper village and not far from the Basilica of St. Francis, we came across a tiny shop filled with the most beautiful olive wood products we had ever seen. There were cutting boards of every shape and size, utensils, bowls, platters and beautiful hand carved nativity scenes. St. Francis created the first (well, second) nativity scene in 1223, because he felt that Christmas had become too focused on materialism.  Today, the Passeri family has hand- crafted these unique and unusual items with professionalism and passion. These ancestrally skilled craftsmen mold and use their experience and mastery of the precious olive wood to create stunning pieces truly useful and unique in our daily lives.