BARBERLAND PRAGUE
& ANTICA BARBIERIA COLLA
A parallel across space and time
Why the merger of Barberland (BL) and Antica Barbieria Colla (ABC)? Our founder David discovered ABC completely by accident when he bought their brand of perfume in another barbershop in Milan. After the first visit to ABC, it was clear where BL would go next. He found the same vision and a similar concept here. This 120-year-old barber's paradise enchanted David so much that he decided to arrange training for his team of barbers here, and at the same time use the brand's luxury cosmetics in BL. This is how this more than a century long Italian tradition was transferred to the heart of Prague, to Barberland.
BARBERSHOP ESTABLISHED IN MILAN IN 1904
OVER 100 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN BEARD AND HAIR CARE
The Antica Barbieria Colla barbershop was opened in the heart of Milan in 1904 by Dino Colla, a barber from the city of Ferrara. He never served customers himself, but rather trained his staff to guarantee a high level of service to his clients. After a few years of its opening, Antica Barbieria Colla, thanks to its great success, began to be considered a kind of gentlemen's club in the style of the British ones.
After this great success, Dino Colla began to look for bigger premises, in 1919 he moved to via Verdi 2, on the corner of via Manzoni, opposite the La Scala theater. In the new location, Antica Barbieria Colla experienced its greatest fame and recognition. The barbershop was considered a kind of institution, given that all official institutions also visited the barbershop. Colla's success lasted until August 1943, when the Piazza Scala and its surroundings were leveled by bombing, causing the barber shop to close for nine months. Antica Barbieria Colla reopened on April 1, 1944 at via Gerolamo Morone 3 (current location).
Of its many employees, only one, Guido Mantovanini, waited loyally for the reopening. His dedication was duly rewarded when he became the sole heir to the business after the death of Dino Colla in February 1949. On January 16, 1960, barber Franco Bompieri, who had fresh experience from the Hotel Continentale, joined Antica Barbieria Colla. Thus began a sincere and enthusiastic alliance, and the barbershop flourished even more thanks to the clientele brought in by Franco Bompieri.
In 1965, together with Guido Mantovani, Franco became another shareholder, each with a 50% stake. Their collaboration lasted a total of thirteen years until Guido Mantovanini fell ill in 1973; therefore, two years later, in 1975, Franco Bompieri became the sole shareholder of the barbershop, which was already very well-respected in Milan.
FRANCESCO BOMPIERI,
KNOWN AS FRANCO
PERFORMER OF THE TRADITIONAL ART IN BEARD CARE,
WHO HAS RUN THE BARBERSHOP SINCE HALF
THE SEVENTY YEARS TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM
Franco Bompieri was the last barber to own Antica Barbieria Colla and always claimed that he was only interested in two things: cutting hair and writing.
Franco was born in 1934 in Volta Mantovana, became a barber at the age of 9, and came to Milan in 1949, just after the end of World War II. At a time when Italy in general, and therefore Milan, was rebuilding its own identity, Franco's work allowed him to meet and serve men from different walks of life: street cleaners from his first job in the Lambrate area, bicycle thieves from a shop on via Marco D 'Oggiono, gentlemen from the Hotel Continentale, and finally the well-known clients of his own salon, Antica Barbieria Colla, where topics such as art and literature were often the subject of discussions. The shop was frequented by many important Italian personalities, such as Cesare Romiti, Giulio Malgara, the Tronchetti brothers, Enrico Cuccia, Luchino Visconti and Enzo Jannacci.
In his spare time, usually overnight, Franco also devoted himself to writing. Bompieri's books were published by the largest Italian publishing houses.
Franco, and thus Antica Barbieria Colla, reflects a city that no longer exists: the same place where the sweepers from the movie The Miracle of Milan or the pickpockets and immigrants from Rocco and his brothers lived, and also the elegant city where Luchino Visconti spent his life. ;He is an "artisan of elegance" who experienced hunger, but also visited the La Scala theater, met street cleaners as well as princes, thieves and important bankers.