From https://www.explore-italian-culture.com/fontanini.html
Fontanini is a family concern which began with the patriarch, Emanuele. He was at first an apprentice figurine-painter to another company but in 1908 started Fontanini as a small local business in a single room in the tiny Tuscan town of Bagni di Lucca.
Initially Fontanini figures were crafted in “papier mâché” but as more durable materials came onto the market they began making their nativity figures of a nearly indestructable and child-friendly polymer resin.
The resin figurines are those usually seen in the American and European markets. The amazing attention to detail, lifelike sculpting and meticulous painting have made Fontanini figures an exceptional heirloom for families the world over.