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Panicale is a small town in Umbria, Italy. It is where an Italian lady by the name of Anita Belleschi Grifoni founded a school of embroidery and named it Ars Panicalensis [Art of Panicale] in the early 1930s.
Born in Panicale in 1889, Anita lost her mother at a young age and was then taken in by the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish were she received her education and was taught embroidery. When she was in her forties, Anita was asked to restore a veil owned by the Countess Barabino di LeMura. Whether the veil was Venetian or French is unclear, in any event Anita was then inspired to start a revival of the technique of Embroidery on Tulle. She studied many antique pieces at the Collegiate Church of St. Michael Archangel and in other local churches and the embroidery school was born.
Anita's designs were of typical 19th century taste: mostly floral motifs enriched by volutes and festoons, or birds of paradise on flowering branches, love knots, ribbons, landscapes, swallows and rural elements.
The school provided a means for local women to earn some financial and moral independence by making and selling their work. Anita was so convinced of the potential of Ars Panicalensis that she sent some samples to the House of Savoy. As a result, Anita and her daughter embroidered the christening robe for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy. The embroideries became well-known and sought after by the upper class and noble families and the school was commissioned to do bridal veils, tablecloths and other items destined not only for individual use but also for Embassies and many pieces went out to foreign markets.
Today you can see many of these works in the Panicale Tulle Museum in the Church of S. Agostino in Piazza Regina Margherita, Panicale. A few photos are here. Paola Matteucci, a master of the technique of Ars Panicalensis consults and assists in the management and promotion of the museum. She also teaches courses on the technique and in 2004, wrote for and co-edited the book, Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni'.
I was lucky enough to see her display in Rimini at the Italia Invita Forum. The work was breathtakingly beautiful and the display was the talk of the show. Be sure to watch the slideshow of the display at the Italia Invita Forum in Rimini in 2007.
Read about Ars Panicalensis at Tuttoricamo under the 'Techniques' heading, the article is entitled: Embroidery on Tulle. While you're there, check out the book reviews for a review of the book Ars Panicalensis, il Museo del Tulle 'Anita Belleschi Grifoni' and the CD offered by Paola Matteucci in the 'Books' section under the heading: Other Italian Techniques.
The book (with text in Italian and English) and the CD (Italian but has some English text - step by step photos are very easy to follow) are available directly from Paola Matteucci's website. She also sells kits!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Samplers 2
The following photo is of an open work Italian sampler pictured and described in Elisa Ricci's Ricami Italiani Antichi e Moderni (Le Monnier, 1925).
A 17th century sampler of 60 different motifs divided into three columns. All done in white on white, superby executed – perhaps the work of a professional embroiderer or teacher. Reticello, Punto Antico, Drawn Thread work. Elisa Ricci says that it is no longer a "page of notes" but a "page from a dictionary or manual." Indeed this is definitely a sampler one could use as a reference for many, many motifs and stitches.
What if it was someone's resumé? You'd hire them on the spot!
Rows of Four-Sided Stitch are used to divide the motifs and the sections (also as a unit of measure - it's much easier to count squares than individual ground threads!). Curl Stitch, Satin Stitch and Buttonhole Stitch in many of its variations.
Wouldn't it be lovely to study this one up close? Look at the texture!
For some excellent articles on samplers, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the 'History' heading.
A 17th century sampler of 60 different motifs divided into three columns. All done in white on white, superby executed – perhaps the work of a professional embroiderer or teacher. Reticello, Punto Antico, Drawn Thread work. Elisa Ricci says that it is no longer a "page of notes" but a "page from a dictionary or manual." Indeed this is definitely a sampler one could use as a reference for many, many motifs and stitches.
What if it was someone's resumé? You'd hire them on the spot!
Rows of Four-Sided Stitch are used to divide the motifs and the sections (also as a unit of measure - it's much easier to count squares than individual ground threads!). Curl Stitch, Satin Stitch and Buttonhole Stitch in many of its variations.
Wouldn't it be lovely to study this one up close? Look at the texture!
For some excellent articles on samplers, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the 'History' heading.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Samplers
Italian needlework samplers are hard to come by. I'm not sure if this is because they were actually used as 'notebooks' in the sense that Italians embroidered samplers of stitches as the only record of the stitches that they were taught and therefore the samplers were handled more and didn't survive the years. This is only a guess. They are not as commonly found as they are in English-speaking countries and usually not framed on the wall like we do.
I found some samplers in my travels to Italy last year, a few were at the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence. A couple of them looked to be mostly cross stitch, one was a darning sampler, the one I looked at the longest was one with various surface stitches and gold thread in one quarter with needle lace and some Macramé around the edges, another quarter of it was all Drawn Thread work. A lot of it was empty space as if it weren't finished – I later recognized this sampler in Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace, 1913. (you can find it on page 108 of the pdf file). How I would dearly love to be able to study this sampler up close at length!
Sorry the photo is blurry, the lighting was very low in this room:
In Verona at the little Don Mazza Museum in Via D.N. Mazza no. 14, there was a delicately stitched sampler done in such tiny stitches on very fine linen. Those bottom letters are made out of eyelets!
... we couldn't quite figure out how the cross stitches ended up looking like squares on the back:
At this museum we also found a long strip of wool done as a knitting sampler (this is only a small part):
There is a book I'd like to investigate called: Imparaticci = Samplers: Exercises of embroidery of European and American little girls from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century by Marina Carmignani, 1986 (text in Italian). It's quite expensive so it's just on my wish list for now. Do you have this book? Can you tell me about the Italian samplers in it?
Thank you Armida for your pics of the samplers at the Davanzati Museum, mine did not turn out at all!
I found some samplers in my travels to Italy last year, a few were at the Palazzo Davanzati in Florence. A couple of them looked to be mostly cross stitch, one was a darning sampler, the one I looked at the longest was one with various surface stitches and gold thread in one quarter with needle lace and some Macramé around the edges, another quarter of it was all Drawn Thread work. A lot of it was empty space as if it weren't finished – I later recognized this sampler in Elisa Ricci's Old Italian Lace, 1913. (you can find it on page 108 of the pdf file). How I would dearly love to be able to study this sampler up close at length!
Sorry the photo is blurry, the lighting was very low in this room:
In Verona at the little Don Mazza Museum in Via D.N. Mazza no. 14, there was a delicately stitched sampler done in such tiny stitches on very fine linen. Those bottom letters are made out of eyelets!
... we couldn't quite figure out how the cross stitches ended up looking like squares on the back:
At this museum we also found a long strip of wool done as a knitting sampler (this is only a small part):
There is a book I'd like to investigate called: Imparaticci = Samplers: Exercises of embroidery of European and American little girls from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century by Marina Carmignani, 1986 (text in Italian). It's quite expensive so it's just on my wish list for now. Do you have this book? Can you tell me about the Italian samplers in it?
Thank you Armida for your pics of the samplers at the Davanzati Museum, mine did not turn out at all!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Ars Canusina
The Great Countess Matilda of Canossa is one of those historical figures who fascinates me. She lived from 1046 - 1115. Her lands spanned across much of the central northern part of what is Italy today. She was politically active and even hosted a reconciliation between Pope Gregory VII and King Henry IV of Germany at her castle in Canossa. She was apparently quite the military strategist as well, her forces achieving several successful campaigns. In the 1630s her remains were moved to St. Peter's Basilica in a tomb made for her by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and several other artists at the request of Pope Urban VIII.
In the 1920s Dr. Maria Bertolani Del Rio, a psychiatrist, had designs recorded from the stonework and architecture of the Canossa castle and surrounding churches. Putting them together with many Romanesque and Carolingian designs found on "Matildic codexes" (the Countess Matilda was responsible for a great many important documents and even had her own biography completed within her lifetime), a book was produced in 1935 called Ars Canusina [Art of Canossa].
Dr. Bertolani Del Rio was the Superintendent for the Antonio Marro scolastic colony, a project of the San Lazzaro Psychiatric Institute in Reggio Emilia. The purpose of the colony was to look after and educate children who had been admitted for psychiatric care or were abandoned by their families. Boys learned various trades and girls were taught embroidery and other textile arts.
In 1932 the colony was asked to exhibit works of local tradition in the National Exhibition of Woman's Work. This was when Dr. Bertolani Del Rio merged her two fields of interest: the children and the designs she had been collecting. With the help of the Drawing teacher, Professor Giuseppe Baroni patterns for embroidery were created. Beautiful embroideries stitched by pupils of the colony with the assistance of a few expert embroiderers won the gold medal at the Exhibition.
The colony closed down after the Second World War and the trademarked name is now owned by the Comune of Casina and authentic products are made by the Consorzio Ars Canusina.
Tuttoricamo has two excellent articles on the history of this technique and the colony under the "Techniques" heading. There are also some technical instructions in the "How its done" section.
Books on the technique include:
Reggio Ricama Racconta l'Ars Canusina, 2003 (text in Italian and English)
Ricamo Canusino, Comune di Casina (text in Italian - difficult to find)
Ars Canusina, Maria Bertolani Del Rio, 1935 (facsimile reprint 1992. Text in Italian - difficult to find)
Some examples of Ars Canusina embroideries are here, here, here, here and here.
In the 1920s Dr. Maria Bertolani Del Rio, a psychiatrist, had designs recorded from the stonework and architecture of the Canossa castle and surrounding churches. Putting them together with many Romanesque and Carolingian designs found on "Matildic codexes" (the Countess Matilda was responsible for a great many important documents and even had her own biography completed within her lifetime), a book was produced in 1935 called Ars Canusina [Art of Canossa].
Dr. Bertolani Del Rio was the Superintendent for the Antonio Marro scolastic colony, a project of the San Lazzaro Psychiatric Institute in Reggio Emilia. The purpose of the colony was to look after and educate children who had been admitted for psychiatric care or were abandoned by their families. Boys learned various trades and girls were taught embroidery and other textile arts.
In 1932 the colony was asked to exhibit works of local tradition in the National Exhibition of Woman's Work. This was when Dr. Bertolani Del Rio merged her two fields of interest: the children and the designs she had been collecting. With the help of the Drawing teacher, Professor Giuseppe Baroni patterns for embroidery were created. Beautiful embroideries stitched by pupils of the colony with the assistance of a few expert embroiderers won the gold medal at the Exhibition.
The colony closed down after the Second World War and the trademarked name is now owned by the Comune of Casina and authentic products are made by the Consorzio Ars Canusina.
Tuttoricamo has two excellent articles on the history of this technique and the colony under the "Techniques" heading. There are also some technical instructions in the "How its done" section.
Books on the technique include:
Reggio Ricama Racconta l'Ars Canusina, 2003 (text in Italian and English)
Ricamo Canusino, Comune di Casina (text in Italian - difficult to find)
Ars Canusina, Maria Bertolani Del Rio, 1935 (facsimile reprint 1992. Text in Italian - difficult to find)
Some examples of Ars Canusina embroideries are here, here, here, here and here.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Italian Needlework School Collaboration - History in the Making
I have been asked to tell you about a project I worked on in 2008. Many of you know (and many of you may not know) that I donate some translation work for the website Tuttoricamo.
In 2008 the Tuttoricamo ladies wanted to put together a book about Italian embroidery with the proceeds going to charity. Simona Bussiglieri from Mani di Donna had already put together a booklet of cross stitch designs in 2007 and was doing the same for 2008.
The ladies from Tuttoricamo sent word around to various embroidery schools asking if anyone would be interested in contributing to this worthy cause. (Proceeds went to the Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù of Rome which then used them to help the Bellosquardo House in Rome which houses low-income families from all over Italy and the poorer countries of the world). The response was good and the Tuttoricamo ladies embarked on the daunting task of coordinating and putting together the book: Un Natale da Ricamare 2008 con Tuttoricamo.
First a bit of background information: in Italy there are many embroidery and lace making schools. They are run by the various masters and teachers of Italian needlework techniques, usually as a second job, as most of you are aware, embroidery doesn't make anyone rich. These schools are generally in competition with each other, each one vying for students, teaching not just one, but many techniques in an effort to attract pupils. Some courses are carried out over weekends, some on specific days of the week, some over a period of weeks, months or years; in churches, community centres, private homes. Some schools and associations are fortunate enough to have some financial backing from community, provincial or regional funds and therefore have a fixed address and classrooms. It is a difficult way to make a living and the competition is quite fierce.
To ask these schools to collaborate together is something that had not been attempted before. Counting on the main goal of charity at Christmas time, the Tuttoricamo ladies went ahead and were successful in getting 13 associations to donate over 30 small patterns to be stitched up as Christmas cards or gifts. The techniques included: Classic Surface Embroidery, Drawn Thread Work, Palestrina Embroidery, Aemilia Ars Needle Lace, Cutwork, Reticello, Shadow Work, Cilaos, Filling Stitches, Bricco Embroidery, Cavandoli Macramé, Bandera Embroidery and Colbert Embroidery. Projects besides numerous Christmas cards were: table runner, table centre, needle book, lingerie envelope, wine bottle carrier, dish carrier, wine bottle drip-stop apron, napkin rings, Christmas tree ornaments, book cover, guest towel, advent calendar, sachet.
This is the sachet done by Gilda Cefariello Grosso (look her up at Tuttoricamo under 'Prominent Characters'):
This is the lingerie envelope done by the Association Giaveno Ricama:
Everyone donated their time, those who drew the patterns and wrote instructions, those who stitched the models, those who photographed, those who coordinated and me, who translated an English version (available as an insert upon request from Mani di Donna). The booklet is not for beginners, it is assumed that you have some working knowledge of the techniques as limits of space prohibited extensive instructions. It wasn't easy and it was stressful as putting together any publication is. Printing deadlines had to be met and asking people who are donating their time to conform to time restraints is not the easiest thing in the world to do. In the end however, a piece of history was made. This book represents more than the good will and charity of embroiderers at Christmas, it represents a sisterhood of sharing the art of Italian needlework and presenting it to the English-speaking world.
In 2008 the Tuttoricamo ladies wanted to put together a book about Italian embroidery with the proceeds going to charity. Simona Bussiglieri from Mani di Donna had already put together a booklet of cross stitch designs in 2007 and was doing the same for 2008.
The ladies from Tuttoricamo sent word around to various embroidery schools asking if anyone would be interested in contributing to this worthy cause. (Proceeds went to the Pediatric Hospital Bambino Gesù of Rome which then used them to help the Bellosquardo House in Rome which houses low-income families from all over Italy and the poorer countries of the world). The response was good and the Tuttoricamo ladies embarked on the daunting task of coordinating and putting together the book: Un Natale da Ricamare 2008 con Tuttoricamo.
First a bit of background information: in Italy there are many embroidery and lace making schools. They are run by the various masters and teachers of Italian needlework techniques, usually as a second job, as most of you are aware, embroidery doesn't make anyone rich. These schools are generally in competition with each other, each one vying for students, teaching not just one, but many techniques in an effort to attract pupils. Some courses are carried out over weekends, some on specific days of the week, some over a period of weeks, months or years; in churches, community centres, private homes. Some schools and associations are fortunate enough to have some financial backing from community, provincial or regional funds and therefore have a fixed address and classrooms. It is a difficult way to make a living and the competition is quite fierce.
To ask these schools to collaborate together is something that had not been attempted before. Counting on the main goal of charity at Christmas time, the Tuttoricamo ladies went ahead and were successful in getting 13 associations to donate over 30 small patterns to be stitched up as Christmas cards or gifts. The techniques included: Classic Surface Embroidery, Drawn Thread Work, Palestrina Embroidery, Aemilia Ars Needle Lace, Cutwork, Reticello, Shadow Work, Cilaos, Filling Stitches, Bricco Embroidery, Cavandoli Macramé, Bandera Embroidery and Colbert Embroidery. Projects besides numerous Christmas cards were: table runner, table centre, needle book, lingerie envelope, wine bottle carrier, dish carrier, wine bottle drip-stop apron, napkin rings, Christmas tree ornaments, book cover, guest towel, advent calendar, sachet.
This is the sachet done by Gilda Cefariello Grosso (look her up at Tuttoricamo under 'Prominent Characters'):
This is the lingerie envelope done by the Association Giaveno Ricama:
Everyone donated their time, those who drew the patterns and wrote instructions, those who stitched the models, those who photographed, those who coordinated and me, who translated an English version (available as an insert upon request from Mani di Donna). The booklet is not for beginners, it is assumed that you have some working knowledge of the techniques as limits of space prohibited extensive instructions. It wasn't easy and it was stressful as putting together any publication is. Printing deadlines had to be met and asking people who are donating their time to conform to time restraints is not the easiest thing in the world to do. In the end however, a piece of history was made. This book represents more than the good will and charity of embroiderers at Christmas, it represents a sisterhood of sharing the art of Italian needlework and presenting it to the English-speaking world.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Cavandoli Macramé
Since I told you about Bricco Embroidery yesterday, it only seems logical to tell you the story of Cavandoli Macramé today.
Valentina Cavandoli was an Italian school teacher who came to be the headmistress of a house for poor and/or orphaned children in Turin around the end of the First World War. Many of the children were the healthy offspring of parents with Tuberculosis. There were many houses who cared for these children but we will concentrate on the Casa del Sole [House of the Sun] directed by this special lady.
The Casa del Sole was a mansion donated by a clothing manufacturer in memory of his daughter. He also donated enough money to build dormitories, a dining room and shower facilities for the 100 children who lived in the home. Children of both sexes were housed between the ages of 3 and 15.
To keep the children busy, Valentina had them create objects in a certain type of Macramé – an art she herself had learned from her great grandmother – which came to be known as Cavandoli. With this technique, the children made accessories for clothing and interior decorating and sold them in charity markets. Each child was assigned a savings book and the money earned from their products was recorded and then given to them upon their leave-taking of the home.
The Casa del Sole survived until 1936 when the political and social situation in Italy became too difficult for the mainly Jewish benefactors of the home.
Valentina Cavandoli died at the age of 97 in 1969, having received a gold medal of recognition for her life's work in 1961.
Cavandoli Macramé is always made of two colours. Each stitch consists of two knots, the pattern is created by inverting the knots. When done in larger pieces, it produces a kind of stiff "fabric", excellent for creating table mats, book covers and borders for pillows, purses, etc. Smaller items can be book marks, eye glasses cases, belts, etc. Patterns for single colour cross stitch or filet lace are suitable to use for this technique.
This is the front of my work in progress made with Pearl Cotton no. 8:
... and the back:
I don't recommend starting your first project with so small a thread – I am having a lot of difficulty keeping the work even!
There is an excellent book on the history and technique of Cavandoli called: Bricco e Cavandoli, due favole in punta d'ago by Gisella Tamagno Gazzola. (Click on the author's name to go to her website where you can see pictures of Cavandoli Macramé.)
To learn more about Cavandoli Macramé, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the 'Techniques' heading. Once there, you can also read a review of the book mentioned above: click on 'Books', then 'Other Italian Techniques'.
The book can be purchased at Tombolo Disegni, click on 'Books', then 'Libri Ricami', then 'Ricamo Italiani'. The book has two subjects, Bricco Embroidery and Cavandoli Macramé and is printed in both languages (Italian and English) together. (You must send an email request to make a purchase.)
The Anchor Manual of Needlework has a whole chapter dedicated to 'Cavandoli Work' with photos and technical instructions.
Valentina Cavandoli was an Italian school teacher who came to be the headmistress of a house for poor and/or orphaned children in Turin around the end of the First World War. Many of the children were the healthy offspring of parents with Tuberculosis. There were many houses who cared for these children but we will concentrate on the Casa del Sole [House of the Sun] directed by this special lady.
The Casa del Sole was a mansion donated by a clothing manufacturer in memory of his daughter. He also donated enough money to build dormitories, a dining room and shower facilities for the 100 children who lived in the home. Children of both sexes were housed between the ages of 3 and 15.
To keep the children busy, Valentina had them create objects in a certain type of Macramé – an art she herself had learned from her great grandmother – which came to be known as Cavandoli. With this technique, the children made accessories for clothing and interior decorating and sold them in charity markets. Each child was assigned a savings book and the money earned from their products was recorded and then given to them upon their leave-taking of the home.
The Casa del Sole survived until 1936 when the political and social situation in Italy became too difficult for the mainly Jewish benefactors of the home.
Valentina Cavandoli died at the age of 97 in 1969, having received a gold medal of recognition for her life's work in 1961.
Cavandoli Macramé is always made of two colours. Each stitch consists of two knots, the pattern is created by inverting the knots. When done in larger pieces, it produces a kind of stiff "fabric", excellent for creating table mats, book covers and borders for pillows, purses, etc. Smaller items can be book marks, eye glasses cases, belts, etc. Patterns for single colour cross stitch or filet lace are suitable to use for this technique.
This is the front of my work in progress made with Pearl Cotton no. 8:
... and the back:
I don't recommend starting your first project with so small a thread – I am having a lot of difficulty keeping the work even!
There is an excellent book on the history and technique of Cavandoli called: Bricco e Cavandoli, due favole in punta d'ago by Gisella Tamagno Gazzola. (Click on the author's name to go to her website where you can see pictures of Cavandoli Macramé.)
To learn more about Cavandoli Macramé, go to Tuttoricamo and look under the 'Techniques' heading. Once there, you can also read a review of the book mentioned above: click on 'Books', then 'Other Italian Techniques'.
The book can be purchased at Tombolo Disegni, click on 'Books', then 'Libri Ricami', then 'Ricamo Italiani'. The book has two subjects, Bricco Embroidery and Cavandoli Macramé and is printed in both languages (Italian and English) together. (You must send an email request to make a purchase.)
The Anchor Manual of Needlework has a whole chapter dedicated to 'Cavandoli Work' with photos and technical instructions.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Bricco Embroidery
In 1913 Countess Tarsilla Petitti started a school for girls in a little town called Bricco de Faule (near Turin) in the Piedmont region of Italy. The people of the town were mostly poor farmers and the object of the school was to educate girls and train them in embroidery so that they could earn a living.
The Petitti family was in possession of a sacerdotal robe of richly embroidered fine cambric linen dating back to about the 17th century which they displayed in their chapel. At the time it was made, Church vestments were richly embroidered in what the Italians called Saxony Embroidery (Ricamo di Sassonia) which I strongly suspect is what we know today as Dresden Embroidery.
The robe was finely embroidered in white and silver threads with designs of roosters and peacocks, heraldic double-headed eagles, the emblem of Franciscan nuns, leaves and vines and many different types of stylized flowers. Tarsilla Petitti decided to create designs for her students using the robe as inspiration. Her pupils learned traditional embroidery techniques but became especially proficient at Bricco Embroidery as the embroideries born from the designs of the robe became known.
Instead of fine cambric, robust undyed homespun cloth made of hemp, cotton or linen was used. Thicker cotton threads replaced the fine white and silver ones of the robe resulting in a completely 'new' style of embroidery. Embroidered clothing done by the girls of the school were sold to the upper classes who were happy to support the project.
The outbreak of the First World War robbed the school of its pupils who were needed at home to replace the men who had gone off to war. Tarsilla Petitti then looked to the lower middle class women of the area who needed to supplement their incomes and to local nuns to keep her embroidery workshop open.
Bricco Embroidery took a gold medal at the 1923 Industrial Agricultural Exposition in Cherasco and became well known throughout Italy and abroad.
The Countess died in 1937. This unhappy event and the outbreak of the Second World War signaled the end of her workshop.
The technique had been all but forgotten until a recent revival has sparked new interest resulting in pieces of this unique and attractive embroidery being produced once again by various Italian embroiderers and the publication of the book: Bricco e Cavandoli, due favole in punta d'ago by Gisella Tamagno Gazzola. (Click on the author's name to go to her website where you can see pictures of Bricco Embroidery.)
This is a small purse kit that I purchased from the author in 2007:
To learn more about Bricco Embroidery, go to Tuttoricamo's website and look under the 'Techniques' heading. While you're there, read a book review of the publication mentioned above: click on 'Books', then 'Other Italian Techniques'.
The book can be purchased at Tombolo Disegni, click on 'Books', then 'Libri Ricami', then 'Ricamo Italiani'. The book has two subjects, Bricco Embroidery and Cavandoli Macramé and is printed in both languages (Italian and English) together. (You must send an email request to make a purchase.)
If you have the Anchor Manual of Needlework, there is a little bit written on this technique with a photo in the 'Italian Embroidery' chapter.
This is a fun Advent Calendar done in Bricco Embroidery:
The Petitti family was in possession of a sacerdotal robe of richly embroidered fine cambric linen dating back to about the 17th century which they displayed in their chapel. At the time it was made, Church vestments were richly embroidered in what the Italians called Saxony Embroidery (Ricamo di Sassonia) which I strongly suspect is what we know today as Dresden Embroidery.
The robe was finely embroidered in white and silver threads with designs of roosters and peacocks, heraldic double-headed eagles, the emblem of Franciscan nuns, leaves and vines and many different types of stylized flowers. Tarsilla Petitti decided to create designs for her students using the robe as inspiration. Her pupils learned traditional embroidery techniques but became especially proficient at Bricco Embroidery as the embroideries born from the designs of the robe became known.
Instead of fine cambric, robust undyed homespun cloth made of hemp, cotton or linen was used. Thicker cotton threads replaced the fine white and silver ones of the robe resulting in a completely 'new' style of embroidery. Embroidered clothing done by the girls of the school were sold to the upper classes who were happy to support the project.
The outbreak of the First World War robbed the school of its pupils who were needed at home to replace the men who had gone off to war. Tarsilla Petitti then looked to the lower middle class women of the area who needed to supplement their incomes and to local nuns to keep her embroidery workshop open.
Bricco Embroidery took a gold medal at the 1923 Industrial Agricultural Exposition in Cherasco and became well known throughout Italy and abroad.
The Countess died in 1937. This unhappy event and the outbreak of the Second World War signaled the end of her workshop.
The technique had been all but forgotten until a recent revival has sparked new interest resulting in pieces of this unique and attractive embroidery being produced once again by various Italian embroiderers and the publication of the book: Bricco e Cavandoli, due favole in punta d'ago by Gisella Tamagno Gazzola. (Click on the author's name to go to her website where you can see pictures of Bricco Embroidery.)
This is a small purse kit that I purchased from the author in 2007:
To learn more about Bricco Embroidery, go to Tuttoricamo's website and look under the 'Techniques' heading. While you're there, read a book review of the publication mentioned above: click on 'Books', then 'Other Italian Techniques'.
The book can be purchased at Tombolo Disegni, click on 'Books', then 'Libri Ricami', then 'Ricamo Italiani'. The book has two subjects, Bricco Embroidery and Cavandoli Macramé and is printed in both languages (Italian and English) together. (You must send an email request to make a purchase.)
If you have the Anchor Manual of Needlework, there is a little bit written on this technique with a photo in the 'Italian Embroidery' chapter.
This is a fun Advent Calendar done in Bricco Embroidery:
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