Marble mosaic and terrazzo were a very common type of stone paving in Venice, Italy, especially between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Throughout the period, migrant craftsmen from the nearby Alpine foothills area of Friuli (in northeastern Italy) virtually monopolized the Venetian marble mosaic and terrazzo trade. Thus, on February 9, 1583, the Venetian Council of Ten granted maestro (master) Sgualdo Sabadin from Friuli and his fellow Friulian workers of the arte dei terazzeri (art of terrazzo) the capacity to establish a school guild dedicated to St. Florian. The first chapters of the Mariegola de’ Terazzeri (Statutes of the Terrazzo Workers Guild), which set the rules for the guild of terrazzo workers, was completed three years later, in September 1586.

From the 1830s onward, Friulian craftsmen began to export their skills and trade from Venice across Europe and later, at the turn of the twentieth century, overseas to several American cities. Prior to reaching America, mosaic and terrazzo workers left from their work places outside Italy, initially from Paris. Friulian mosaic and terrazzo workers were regarded as the “aristocracy” of the Italian American building workforce due to their highly specialized jobs: This contrasted with the bulk of Italians in the United States who were largely employed as unskilled. The New York marble mosaic- and terrazzo-paving trade was completely in the hands of the Italian craftsmen, who demonstrated a strong tendency to become entrepreneurs. They made use of their craftsmanship comparative advantages to build a successful network of firms that dominated the domestic market, in a similar fashion to what had already been occurring in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.

This paper argues that immigrants can be powerful conduits for the transfer of skills and knowledge, and emphasizes the importance of studying skilled migrant artisan experiences. A closer look at ethnic migration flows reveals a variety of entrepreneurial experiences, even in groups largely considered unskilled. The Italian marble mosaic and terrazzo workers’ experience sheds new light on ethnic entrepreneurship catering for the community as a whole, it reveals a remarkable long-lasting craftsmanship experience, thus demonstrating the successful continuity in business ownership and the passing down of craftsmanship knowledge across family generations. Creativity skills and innovative productive methods adopted by firms appear as a key factor that allowed these artisans to control the trade for such a long time.

大理石马赛克和水磨石是意大利威尼斯非常常见的石材铺路方式，尤其是在 16 世纪和 18 世纪之间。在整个时期，来自附近的弗留利（意大利东北部）阿尔卑斯山麓地区的移民工匠实际上垄断了威尼斯大理石马赛克和水磨石贸易。因此，在 1583 年 2 月 9 日，威尼斯十人委员会授予来自弗留利的大师（大师）Sgualdo Sabadin 和他在arte dei terazzeri（水磨石艺术）的弗留利工人同事建立一个致力于圣弗洛里安的学校行会的能力。Mariegola de' Terazzeri（水磨石工人协会章程）的第一章制定了水磨石工人协会的规则，于三年后于 1586 年 9 月完成。

从 1830 年代起，弗留利工匠开始将他们的技能和贸易从威尼斯出口到欧洲，后来在 20 世纪之交，出口到美国的几个城市。在到达美国之前，马赛克和水磨石工人从意大利以外的工作地点离开，最初是从巴黎。弗留利马赛克和水磨石工人因其高度专业化的工作而被视为意大利裔美国建筑工人的“贵族”：这与在美国大部分以非熟练技术就业的意大利人形成鲜明对比。纽约大理石马赛克和水磨石铺路贸易完全掌握在意大利工匠手中，他们表现出强烈的企业家倾向。

本文认为，移民可以成为技能和知识转移的有力渠道，并强调研究技术移民工匠经验的重要性。仔细观察族裔移民流动会发现各种创业经历，即使是在很大程度上被认为是不熟练的群体中也是如此。意大利大理石马赛克和水磨石工人的经历为整个社区的民族创业提供了新的视角，它揭示了非凡的持久手工艺经验，从而展示了企业所有权的成功延续和手工艺知识在家庭中的传承世代。企业采用的创造力技能和创新生产方法似乎是使这些工匠能够长期控制贸易的关键因素。