Chiavari chairs are named after the Italian city where they originated. The small town, located between Genoa and the Cinque Terre, began producing these chairs at the beginning of the 19th century. Lightweight and elegant, the chairs could be easily moved from the dining room to the ballroom and increasingly became used at weddings and functions. Reputedly, the most important leaders and households of the time - including Queen Victoria and Napoleon III - owned a set of Chiavari chairs, and they were even used to seat the 900 guests at the Kennedy wedding in 1953.
