Martarello Group, Italy at Masters de Feu 2024

The second country featured in the international lineup of the 7th edition of Masters de Feu, Italy took the stage in 2024 under the banner of Martarello Group. Based in Arquà Polesine, in the province of Rovigo, this fireworks house carries more than a century of family history, technical excellence, and popular passion. In Compiègne, it came to defend a certain vision of fireworks: an art of precision, but also of sharing, capable of bringing thousands of spectators together around the same luminous emotion.

A fireworks dynasty born in northern Italy

Martarello Group belongs to those companies whose name has become inseparable from a territory and a craft. The story begins in 1921 in Arquà Polesine, near Rovigo. At the origin, Giovanni Martarello developed an artisanal production of pyrotechnic effects, in an Italy where village festivals, religious celebrations, and major popular gatherings were already giving fireworks an essential place.

Across generations, the company has grown without breaking the thread of its roots. The family story intersects with that of Coriolano Martarello, passionate about music, and then with that of Ermes Martarello, a figure who helped build the house’s international reputation. This continuity gives Martarello a singular identity: that of a company focused on the world stage, yet still attached to the memory of the workshop, to skills passed down, to respect for the team, and to the strength of a family name.

Michele Martarello, a new generation at the helm

Today, Michele Martarello embodies this new chapter. Son of Ermes Martarello, he has taken on a central role in the company, notably leading the activities linked to events and shows. His path reflects a dual commitment: preserving the family legacy and meeting the challenges of contemporary fireworks, which are increasingly technical, scenographic, and safety-conscious.

In the world of international competitions, this position is invaluable. A competition fireworks display is not limited to power or density. It must offer a writing style, a sense of breathing space, a subtle relationship with music, and an emotional structure that can be read by both the audience and the jury. It is precisely in this space, between tradition and creation, that Martarello Group intends to inscribe its signature.

Why compete with the world’s best fireworks makers?

For the Italian team, taking part in a competition such as Masters de Feu first answers a professional conviction: there is always something to learn from others. Competitions bring together teams from different backgrounds, with their own methods, musical sensibilities, color choices, firing rhythms, and celestial architectures. Observing these approaches and comparing them with one’s own practice makes it possible to progress and enrich creation.

But the competition also has a human dimension. Seeing a large audience gather around a fireworks display reminds pyrotechnicians of the deeper purpose of their craft. Fire is an immediate, universal, almost instinctive language. It stops conversations, draws eyes upward, and brings generations together. For Martarello, this sense of communion strengthens the love of the profession and gives meaning to the long hours of preparation that precede a few minutes of show.

Creativity guided by music and by the scale of the event

When asked about his creative spirit, Michele Martarello emphasizes the decisive role of music. In a pyromusical show, the soundtrack is not merely accompaniment: it structures the writing. It sets the silences, the accelerations, the breaks, and the rising tension. It calls for certain colors, effects, and heights. Fire then enters into dialogue with it, sometimes underscoring it, sometimes challenging it, sometimes setting it alight.

The scale of a competition such as Masters de Feu also acts as a driving force. The prospect of presenting one’s work before a large audience, in an iconic venue like the Hippodrome de Compiègne, pushes teams to go further. The display must remain legible from afar, spectacular without becoming confusing, inventive without sacrificing coherence. This positive pressure encourages boldness and compels each sequence to find its rightful place.

A father’s legacy as artistic compass

When Michele Martarello speaks about his sources of inspiration, he first cites his father. It was with him, he says, that he learned fireworks — not only technique, but also attitude. Work with rigor. Seek originality. Support your team. These principles define a way of doing things, almost a workshop ethic, where the success of a show depends as much on the quality of the products and firing systems as on the solidarity of the people who bring them to life.

This collective dimension is essential in pyrotechnics. A successful show is born from a chain of skills: artistic design, selection of effects, synchronization, installation, safety, coordination, wind reading, and adaptation to the site. Behind the brilliance of the performance lies precise organization, mutual trust, and the ability to remain focused until the final shot. Martarello claims this team strength as one of its major assets.

Liuyang 2019, a memorable international victory

Among the major performance memories cited by the team, the victory achieved in Liuyang in 2019 holds a special place. The Chinese city is one of the world’s foremost centers of pyrotechnics, associated with an ancient fireworks culture and top-level competitions. Standing out there represents far more than a line on a résumé: it is professional recognition in an environment where the level of demand is particularly high.

This memory also says something about Martarello Group’s ambition. The Italian company does not settle for national renown. It faces international stages, where fireworks become an art of competition, precision, and signature. Masters de Feu follows the same logic: offering leading houses a platform that is at once popular, demanding, and spectacular.

“Rock (and Pop) my fire,” a theme made for rhythm

The theme of the 7th edition, “Rock (and Pop) my fire,” opened up a particularly vibrant playground. For Martarello, it first evoked color, light, and rhythm. The formula suggests direct energy, a pulse, and a desire to make the sky vibrate to the tempo of musical references that are accessible, powerful, immediately recognizable, or intensely expressive.

Such a theme invites pyrotechnicians to play with contrasts: sharp bursts and more melodic sequences, rapid effects and luminous washes, rock-driven builds and pop-like breathing spaces. It also allows color to be worked as a full scenographic material. Deep reds, golds, electric blues, strobing whites, or multicolored bouquets can all become visual responses to the energy of the music.

Martarello in Compiègne, between family passion and audience fervor

During the 7th edition of Masters de Feu, held on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at the Hippodrome de Compiègne, Martarello Group carried the colors of Italy in the race for the Silver Master. Facing the other international fireworks teams in competition, the Italian house presented the heritage of a century-old company, but also the momentum of a generation determined to carry the family adventure forward in major pyrotechnic events.

At the close of the 2024 edition, Martarello Group was also awarded the Public Prize. Recognition that resonates particularly well with the philosophy expressed by the team: making fireworks a moment of encounter, joy, and shared emotion. For a house founded in 1921 and still driven by the same family passion, this bond with the audience remains, without doubt, one of the finest rewards.