Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sardinian Traditional Costumes

Sardinia has a long and interesting history. It is a place that fascinated me as a child. The rocky terrain and the incredible colour of the sea surrounding it enchanted my imagination and whenever my friends and I played "Prince Valiant", I was always a princess from the Kingdom of Sardinia dressed in native traditional costume. Don't ask me where I got these ideas or why they sparked my interest, all I know is, it has always been a place I have wanted to visit. So far I have never been able to organize a trip, but I am determined to get there eventually.

On Sardinia there are many religious festivals which involve traditional costumes. Needlework plays a big part in these costumes: silk embroidery on shawls...


...white embroidery on the netting of veils...


...gold embroidery on bodices, skirt flounces, sleeves, whitework on shirts and blouses - its everywhere!


You can see some traditional costumes here during a parade in Sant'Antioco, Sardinia in 2007. A feast is held 15 days after Easter and people arrive from all over the island. It is a great chance to see many traditional costumes which vary from place to place.

You can download a book on Sardinia's traditional costumes at the Sardinian Digital Library website. While the text is in Italian, it is loaded with photos and art depicting the costumes of the island.

For more information and lots of pictures, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the "Techniques" heading and the "Travels" heading.

Thanks to Renata for the pictures!
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2 comments:

  1. r.a.b.May 27, 2010 at 10:47 AM

    Ciao. volevo solo segnalarti che anch'io avevo scaricato su youtube brevi filmati sulla processione di S. Antioco a questo indirizzo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYZ_q8FUJs .
    inoltre, digitando su google 'sagra di s.Efisio' e 'cavalcata sarda' si possono vedere i video delle due maggiori manifestazioni della religiosità e del folklore sardo. la sagra è una festa religiosa (con la processione di tutti i sardi negli abiti tradizionali) mentre la cavalcata è una festa civile con sfilate in costumi tradizionali e gare di corsa e di abilità a cavallo che si tiene a Sassari ogni anno nel mese di maggio.

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  2. Jeanine in CanadaMay 27, 2010 at 7:15 PM

    Grazie mille!!!
    ----------------
    Renata is telling us (for those who don't read Italian) that she has posted some videos on YouTube of parades http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYZ_q8FUJs
    She also says that if you put "sagra di s.Efisio" and "cavalcata sarda" as search words into google you can find other videos of the two main religious and folklore festivals on Sardinia.

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