WORLD-CLASS BUSINESS
Downtown residents bring European flair to Journal Square
By John A. Martins | Reporter Staff writer

Hidden behind a gas station on Kennedy Boulevard, standing unassumingly near State Highway 139, there's a gray warehouse containing a veritable trove of rare European treasures.
The architectural salvage business, run by a group of local 20- and 30- something, is stocked with ornate exterior and interior doorways, structural ironwork and an array of decorative objects that had their beginnings in the palatial homes and grandiose architecture of Europe's magnificent past.
The company, dubbed Amighini Architectural after the family name of three of the business' principals, moved to the area in November and has been steadily progressing in making a name for itself in the regional salvage business.
Having taken part in two regional trade shows this year, the company is getting ready to attend another in Atlantic City in October. And like the objects the company saves from being destroyed, the young company's presence near Journal Square signals the spillover effect of Downtown's Renaissance into other city neighborhoods.

Historical beginnings

Comprised of designers, architects and engineers, the company is manned day-to-day by Downtown Jersey City residents and husband and wife team Patricia Molteni, 30, and Mariano Molteni, 29. The other principals, the Amighini brothers, travel regularly for business' other operations. The Moltenis and Amighinis are connected through a childhood friendship between Mariano Molteni and one of the Amighini brothers, who both grew up in Argentina.
The three brothers - 28-year-old Sebastian, 31-year-old Cristian and 32-year-old Adrian - are the fourth generation of a family that has long been in the business of demolition in Europe, and the company's inventory of items comes from the pieces the elder Amighinis have salvaged from their demolition project in Europe and South America.
The Amighini family has stored their salvaged items in warehouses located in Spain and Argentina. The collection - which has over the years acquired pieces from churches, homes and castles in both Italy and France - runs a wide range of decorative styles.
Ironworks, in the form of balconies or entry gates, comes with intricate detail in the style that was traditional for the time and place in which the piece was created. Doorways with magnificent, carved frames and beautifully crafted stained glass come in periods from Classical French to Art Deco.
The Moltenis, recent New York transplants who said they were enticed across the river by Jersey City's more reasonable rents, share sales and administrative responsibilities at the company's Beacon Avenue showroom. When Patricia Molteni was looking for a studio space in which to create her sculpture, she came upon the buildings at 246 Beacon Ave. When she also found out that Sebastian Amighini, 29, was looking for a space in the New York area to open up a showroom to display his family's acquisitions, she told him about her real estate find. It was then that the two families decided to go into business together.
And while no other business like Amighini Architectural exist in the Hudson County, the Moltenis and Amighinis say they have adapted well to the space and that local residents are receptive to their presence.

A new approach

What sets them apart from their competitors, Patricia Molteni said, is that the group offers a holistic, full-service approach. Whereas other companies just sell the objects and offer no further assistance, Amighini Architectural will sit down with prospective clients and work extensively to satisfy what the customer is looking for.
This involves basic services, like looking over blueprints to match Amighini inventory with the overall design of the pre-determined space, and more time- and labor-intensive projects, like working with the Amighinis' many contacts in Europe and South America to find the object the customer is looking for." We find jewels around the world and find pieces that can fit into today's contemporary designs," Sebastian Amighini said last week.
The group has a refreshingly laid-back attitude and is willing to lend their design, architectural and engineering expertise to the client's projects.
Patricia Molteni says she and her partners take particular care in helping their customers because they want to give the pieces they salvaged a second chance at life.
When doorways are removed from their original locations, they are sent to a warehouse in Argentina where they are stripped, treated and restored to their original beauty. The company's iron objects first go through a facility in Italy, because the artist the Amighinis use to restore iron work lives there.

Interest in the community

When the architectural objects are placed at the Beacon Avenue warehouse, they are arranged to interact with other, more decorative items collected from various locations.
A number of candelabras removed from a demolished church in Milan sit atop a bureau originally from the home of the brother-in-law of the famous Argentinean intellectual and author, Jose Luis Borges. Fireplaces and ceramic tile, along with other antique objects, are placed in showroom's front yard.
In an effort to more firmly entrench its presence in the city, Patricia Molteni said the company is interested in partnering with local preservation groups like the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy. Molteni also said she has spoken with municipal employees at the City Hall to tell them of Amighini Architectural's presence in the city and their willingness to work with the community.
Molteni said the company is excited to be in Jersey City and sense that Jersey City residents are excited by them, as well.
"We love it," Molteni said. "It's convenient because people in the area don't have anything like it. People can come over after brunch and take a look. It's a nice space. It looks like the area is going to grow, and we want to grow with it."

For more information, call the Beacon Avenue showroom at 201.222.6367, or visit the company's online catalog at www.amighini.net.