the italian Aleixo Falci arrived in Brazil at the end of the 19th century and settled in Belo Horizonte. There he opened a hardware store, today the Casa Falci, with 113 years of history.
It all started when Aleixo Falci, his wife Giovanna Falci and the son Antonio Falci, just 3 years old, landed in Port of Rio de Janeiro, on June 11, 1890.
The family came from the small town of Torraca, in the province of Salerno, region of Campania, try to make a better life in Brazil, just like thousands of immigrants from Italy did at that same time.
Aleixo Falci heading to the new capital
In Rio de Janeiro, Aleixo even set up a hardware house, but found out about the construction works of the capital of Minas Gerais. For this reason, he left the store in Rio de Janeiro capital in the care of the child.
Em Belo Horizonte, set up a hardware store and Construction Materials on Avenida Afonso Pena, 529. The store, which was called Casa La Bella Venezia, started selling well, following the city’s growth.
Therefore, Aleixo decided to call his son Antônio to help him with sales. Business expanded and, in 1911, the company changed its corporate name to Aleixo Falci & Filho.
In 1914, Antônio Falci bought the company from his father and changed the name of the store to America House. Later, in 1922, the company would be renamed Casa Falci.
Direct import from Europe
One of the secrets to the venture's success was Antônio's idea of importing hardware materials directly from English, American, Swedish and German industries. Before that, these materials were obtained in Belo Horizonte only through large houses in the industry, in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Antônio Falci was also a pioneer in tourism branch in the new capital of Minas Gerais, representing the General Italian Navigation and Colulich Line, promoting tourist exchange with Mediterranean Europe.
Returning to Casa Falci, the family of Italian immigrants transformed their hardware store into a real mall in the construction materials sector. This at a time when the city where they settled was in frank expansion.
Company helped build BH
The company founded by Aleixo Falci planted its flag in the main landmarks of the construction of Belo Horizonte, such as the Praça Sete Lollipop, building of the Federal Railway Network, Station Square, Grand Hotel of Araxa and Governor Arthur Bernardes Nursing Home. It also provided material for the construction of the Pampulha Architectural Complex.
Casa Falci's first major clients, in the 1940s, were the Government of the State of Minas Gerais, Cia. Belgo Mineira, Morro Velho Mining and Cia. Força e Luz.
The third generation started at the company in the 1930s, more precisely in 1936, in the form of the engineer Renato Falci, son of Antônio and grandson of Aleixo Falci.
Renato was responsible for giving strong commercial push to the enterprise and, above all, for protecting Casa Falci as a community-oriented company, encouraging class actions. He was founder of Chamber of Shopkeepers of Belo Horizonte (CDL-BH).
Family legacy in commerce
Renato Falci was also president of the Commercial Association, the State Commercial Board, created the Center for Economic Studies and was one of the first shareholders of Usiminas.
Since 1993 the company has been managed by Bruno Falci, son of Renato, representative of fourth generation of the company. His son Lucas, 28, also works at Casa Falci.
In February 2020, Bruno Falci assumed the presidency of Commercial Board of the State of Minas Gerais, the same position that was once held by his father.
These are the echoes of the work of five generations of that family of Italians led by Aleixo Falci, who arrived in Brazil at the end of the 19th century, with little money, but a lot of desire to prosper in your new land.
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