Orvieto - Corteo Storico

One summer while living in Siena, I went to Medieval Days in Monteriggioni, a small walled town close by. In our makeshift costumes we parked the car in the valley below the town and walked up the hill to the city gates where we had to state our business to the armoured guards just like they did in Medieval times. There were craftsmen and artisans working in various parts of the town (it is very small), rope makers and spinners, woodworkers and sword sharpeners; live theatre in the streets and flame eaters walking around on stilts. Dinner was served in terracotta bowls with a terracotta cup - no utensils (good thing I always carry a Swiss Army Knife) and wash up was performed at the town fountain. My favourite part was the two young boys with a big lantern who ran through town every hour yelling the time and the state of the town: ie. Sono le otto e tutto va bene! [8 o'clock and all's well].

One event I always wanted to go to but have never able to, is the Corteo Storico in Orvieto. This is series of historical parades which happen every year at the beginning of June to celebrate the Miracle of Bolsena of 1263. Over 400 costumed people take part in the parades. There are many medieval banquets held in and around the historical centre with wait staff dressed in period costume.

In 1951 an Italian woman by the name of Lea Pacini had the idea to celebrate the artisans of Orvieto and worked to initiate this wonderful event. Vima deMarchi Micheli shows slides of the Corteo Storico of Orvieto in her lectures and classes. The costumes are amazing!!


I have translated a bit from this website on how the Corteo Storico got started as their English version is not up and running yet:

...In 1337, at the height of his power Herman Monaldeschi, his brother Bertrand, Bishop of Orvieto, had a Corpus Christi reliquary made of gold, silver and enamel, on which eight scenes depict the story of the Miracle of Bolsena. In 1338 the reliquary was first carried in procession on the day of Corpus Christi. This was the first official procession that there is record of.

But it is only in 1951 that, based on the documented presence of twelve armed men as escorts to the reliquary, it was decided to add an element of the ancient civil and military glories of the medieval town to the religious procession.

...One of the most significant ideas was to restore the importance of the anniversary of the miracle through theatrical representation. From 1947 to 1951 in fact, the Institute of Sacred Drama of Rome, realized religious dramas in the Cathedral. The commemoration ended with a reenactment of the highlights of the "Miracle": the celebration of Mass in the crypt of Santa Cristina in Bolsena.

During that time the Institute of Sacred Drama established a "permanent location", with the intention of founding a school of acting. Unfortunately, serious economic difficulties that year ended the initiative.

Disappointment and regret for the cancellation of the prospect of an historic and cultural investment in the city were noted by Lea Pacini whose intervention proved decisive for the beginning of the story of the historical parade.

On a June afternoon in 1951, on the eve of Corpus Christi, Signora Pacini was telephoned by the then bishop, Francesco Pieri who asked her to "invent" something to make the procession more attractive. Signora Pacini contacted the Florentine "Maggio Musicale Fiorentino" and borrowed some costumes to dress the small group accompanying the procession.

Many people of Orvieto still vividly recall the details of the first steps of the Corteo Storico and the intense quiver of excitement they experienced as they awaited the Corteo and the addition of new costumes and new characters, a fascination and a passion that is renewed every year...

Lea Pacini directed the Corteo Storico from 1951 until her death in 1992. She was quoted as saying that she loved it like her own child and she worked very hard to develop and sustain it during the years overcoming every obstacle. She said: [In the beginning] "...the biggest difficulty, unimaginably was to recruit participants. ...not even the peasants wanted to wear costumes, they were not used to it, they didn't have any trust, it seemed to them that they were going to play buffoons." Thanks to Lea Pacini, Orvieto's artisans created authentic costumes and weaponry, standards and flags which are displayed in the Corteo Storico every year.


Preparation for the event starts the month before. There are ten people who handle the tailoring of the garments and all work is performed voluntarily.

The longtime collaborator of Lea Pacini, Nicoletta De Angelis took over managing the Corteo Storico upon the death of its creator in 1992. Signora De Angelis initiated the Women's Parade (Corteo delle Dame) and the People's Parade (Corteo del Popolo) a few years later which precede and follow the main Corteo Storico. There are some videos to watch here and lots of photos to look at here. There is also a Facebook group here.

The book: Il Corteo Storico di Orvieto fotografato da Aldo Izzo (1991) showcases the costumes in many beautiful colour photographs with written details by Maria Luciana Buseghin.

Casalguidi Embroidery - follow up

Some exciting news regarding my post yesterday on Casalguidi Embroidery! An Italian woman who has done some extensive research (her thesis!) wrote to tell me that she has documented information to correct some erroneous things which have been written/believed about Casalguidi Embroidery. Her thesis is about to be published (how exciting!) and she will let me know when it is available so that I can correct some of the things I wrote yesterday.

I will post here as soon as I can read this material. I am very excited to be able to read/have access to scholarly research which is rarely available to people like me who research for enjoyment! The woman who contacted me has been a terrific resource, so you can be sure I'll tell you a little bit about her too!

Click here for an update to this post.

Casalguidi Embroidery

Please read this post for more up-to-date information!

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, there were many embroidery and lace initiatives in all regions of Italy. Each region developed their own local styles and stitches, initiating schools for educating children and women. Evidence of Casalguidi Embroidery dates back to the 12th century and local antique embroideries were studied and used to inspire new motifs and styles. Like Punto Antico Embroidery which came to mean embroidery using a combination of certain types of stitches, Casalguidi Embroidery (Punto Casale) seems to be the name used to encompass typical embroideries from the area in and around Casalguidi, Italy where examples of this particular style were often found. Ancient examples were rediscovered in the Serravalle Pistoiese region between Lucca and Florence (west to east) and Pistoia and Lamporecchio (north to south).

Casalguidi Embroidery was also known as Punto Toscano and Punto Antico and uses many of the characteristic stitches which we have come to associate now with Punto Antico Embroidery like Satin Stitch, Curl Stitch, the Gigliuccio hemstitching and needle lace fillings for voided areas. At a certain point, motifs of detached Buttonhole Stitch like rosettes, three and four-leafed clover, leaves, animals (real and fantastical) and human figures began to characterize Casalguidi Embroidery. Motifs inspired by the Romanesque ornaments on the churches and other architecture of the area were added along with vines and grapes and the Bastone [stick] motif was developed, the most recognizable characteristic of Casalguidi Embroidery.

Much of the idealization of this technique is owed to Guiseppina Morelli (1875-1960) who, with the help of other women in the early 20th century developed and taught Casalguidi Embroidery to the women of the region giving them means to support themselves by making trousseaux items and household linens and furnishings like: bedspreads, curtains, cushions, tablemats, tablecloths, tablerunners and towels but also purses and small bags, holders for glasses, napkins, handkerchiefs and lingerie as well as covers for boxes and chests and even bomboniere.

The technique achieved national recognition as "one of the most beautiful in Italy" with its inclusion in the Manuale del Cucito e del Ricamo by Cucirini, Cantoni, Coats and a stand-alone manual written by Adele Della Porta in 1915. Casalguidi Embroidery was also much appreciated at the 1904 World's Fair in Milan and the Annual Exposition/Sale of Women's Work in Turin in 1914.

In the 1920s Casalguidi Embroidery was exported by Maria Maddelena de' Rossi to the U.S.

Though the school/laboratories experienced decline after the Second World War and the death of Giuseppina Morelli, the art of Casalguidi Embroidery never died out altogether.

In May of 1998 the Club del Ricamo Casale was founded and today exhibits works in national and international shows and teaches the technique. I bought this small piece from them at their booth in Rimini at the Italia Invita Forum in 2007:


If you get to Pistoia you must go to the Embroidery Museum to see pieces of Casalguidi Embroidery.

The book Storia e Arte del Ricamo, Il Punto di Casalguidi by Paolo Peri (2007) has lots of historical notes (text in Italian) and a didactic section in Italian and English on executing some motifs of Casalguidi Embroidery.

The Club del Ricamo di Casale published their own book in 2009 called Ricamo a Casalguidi which has the didactic section from Paolo Peri's book (above) and more in Italian and English. They also created an instructional booklet for Fiorella Collection which can be purchased from Italian Needlecrafts (please note that Elena is on holiday until July 15).

Please read the Casalguidi Embroidery - Follow Up post for important information regarding this post.

Valtopina - September 3, 4 & 5, 2010

If you're going to be anywhere near Assisi in September of this year, you should definitely make a detour to Valtopina which is less than 20km further east.

On September 3rd, 4th and 5th Valtopina will host the 12th annual show of hand embroidery, lace and artisan weaving, this year called: Ricamare l'Umbria [Embroider Umbria]. The theme this year is Medieval Embroidery at the Table, inspired by the decorative elements of Medieval Umbria depicted in the frescos of the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. If you go to the website of the sponsoring Embroidery School Filo-Filo, you can download two different pdf files of photos of details from the frescos mentioned above. Click on the two sunflowers labeled "Assisi 1" and "Assisi 2". These photos are provided as inspiration for potential exhibitors.

All entries (designs for a tablecloth setting of six) must to be submitted to the embroidery school Filo-Filo by July 31st and there are six categories of prizes. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the display?

Besides the embroidery exhibition, there will also be booths of various exhibitors of lace, embroidery and woven textiles as well as vendors selling all-things related. Throughout the show there will be demonstrations and instructional embroidery courses, lectures and presentations. In addition, at various other locations there will be theme-related activities like at the Museum of Embroidery and Textiles, the local Youth Centre, Sports Arena and other places. For times and locations, you can download the brochure (text in Italian - click on "Visualizza il Dépliant").

Clicking here will take you to some photos of past exhibitions (make sure to click on the photos to get a closer look). There are also the 2009 design winners on the lower part of this page here. There are some pictures of the 2007 exhibition here. More photos from the 2005, 2008 and 2009 shows here.

I'm hoping that someone will send me photos of this year's show (if they are allowed to take them) so I can post an update in September after the show!

Siena

Today is one of the two days in the year that Siena hosts the Palio, a 90 second horserace, held on July 2 and August 16 every year. The Contrada of the Selva won!!!


Siena is broken up into 17 Contradas or neighbourhoods. (See my other post for more) When I lived in Siena in 1998 and 1999, my apartment was in the Selva Contrada, my kitchen window faced into the Selva's headquarters and was right above the stall where they kept their horse in the days leading up to the Palio.

The Selva [Forest] is represented on their flag by a rhinoceros under an oak tree and their colours are green and orange. Picture above is an old postcard (1950s?) depicting the costume of the flag bearer [alfieri] and the flag of the Selva. All decoration on the costume would have been needlework and appliqué.

For some more textile-related fun, here is a stamped cotton gown in the Selva's colours (last photo) designed by Emilio Pucci for his 1957 Palio Collection. For this collection, he also created headscarves, men's shirts styled after the Palio jockey's shirts with matching pants, cocktail and formal gowns for women.

Every so often the costumes for the Contrada's Palio activities get redesigned. If you can make an appointment to view the museums of the Contradas (each one has it's own) some have various retired examples on display. Many costumes have silk and goldwork embroidery.

In 1904 Siena hosted the exposition Arte Antica Senese for which all Palio costumes were redesigned for the opening ceremonies inaugurated by the King and Queen of Italy on April 17th of 1904. That year there was an extra Palio race on that day to celebrate.

Here is a commemorative postcard with a depiction of another Contrada's (L'Oca - the Goose) alfiero:


The redesign of the costumes in 1904 was to reflect the Sienese Renaissance years (1450-1520) and was linked to the exhibition which covered Sienese Art between the years of 1250 and 1555.

There are photos of some lace works exhibited in Siena in 1904 in Elisa Ricci's book Old Italian Lace (1913) like this 16th century tablecloth:


Elisa Ricci wrote an article for the Italian art publication Emporium in August of 1904 on the fabrics and laces of the exposition in Siena. She wrote as only someone who was there could write, full of appreciation and wonder for the beautiful things she saw. She delights in listening to two scholars argue over the age of a particular piece; in the beauty of the works of devotion carefully preserved over centuries; in the luxury of the two-pile velvets and in the early examples of bobbin laces from Milan, Venice and Genoa.

Her particular favourite piece is a collar of needle lace with a musical theme which she speculates must have been destined for a great singer. The lower section is a kind of bas-relief of satyrs and monsters blowing trumpets. The design of this part is attributed to a 16th century artist (not named) and Elisa says that the excellence of execution by the lacemaker challenges the skill of a goldsmith or miniaturist. The middle section holds a row of dancing figures, each enclosed in an architectural niche and dressed in sumptuous Spanish-style dress. In the top points are musical instruments: harps, violas and trumpets in the guise of trophies. "And in the extraordinary minuteness and richness of design, not one line is misplaced, everything is clear, precise, fresh. What eyes, what a needle, what thread, what patience, what love there is in this small masterpiece that has deserved to traverse the centuries, intact in its extreme fragility!"

Click on the photo for a closer look:


I wonder where it is today?

Alessandro Allori

Sometimes the best way to see examples of Italian needlework is to look at paintings and portraits. I like Alessandro Allori's paintings for exactly this reason. In much of his work you can find examples of lace and embroidery on the clothing and furnishings of his subjects.


Alessandro Allori (1535-1607) was the foster son and student of the artist Bronzino, (whose work is also rich in needlework and textile details).


Until quite recently, images of Allori's works were hard to find, now if you do a Google search however, you can get lost among his meticulous detail for quite awhile.

A detail of Annunciation:


I recently purchased the book: Around the David, The Great Art of Michelangelo's Century, 2003 in which Marina Carmignani has written a chapter on lace and embroidery details in Allori's paintings with particular attention to the works preserved (and recently restored) in the Galleria dell'Accademia museum in Florence which also hosts the David by Michelangelo.


As I was there last year and delighted in the details of Allori's paintings, I have been searching for books on his art that are affordable. This is an excellent book and the chapter preceding the one on lace and embroidery details addresses the "domestic naturalness" of Allori bringing into focus little details like the food and furnishings around the subjects. There is also a chapter addressing the many flowers which are scattered throughout Allori's work and their symbolic meanings.

I really liked this Filet border depicted on this cushion in Allori's work: Madonna and Child with Saints...


...so much so that I think I'll use it on a towel border, you can too, if you like, I charted it:


Allori's works (and others) at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence were restored for the 500th anniversary of the David by Michelangelo.


Please note that not all of the paintings here are on display at the Galleria in Florence.

Rodi Stitch

Punto Rodi or Rodi Stitch is a Pulled Thread Stitch used for filling spaces of a design and creating a light, open area. It is used a lot in Italian needlework especially for filling the insides of flowers.

This image taken from the book Nuova Enciclopedia dei Lavori Femminili by Mani di Fata:


When I went looking to find instructions on how to execute it, I found that there are many variations! All have one thing in common and that is that Rodi Stitch is executed in diagonal lines.

I took needle in hand and made you instructions of two different variations. First we'll look at the way Vima deMarchi Micheli teaches it in her Italian Needlework Techniques class that she teaches for the Embroiderers Guild of America. I used 38ct Sotema 20L ivory coloured linen from Italy and DMC Spécial Dentelles #80 thread.

Rodi Stitch - Technique 1
Worked from right to left, bottom to top, turn the work 180 degrees to do the return row. Pull the stitches firmly to open up holes which are bigger than the ground fabric holes for the desired effect. Each stitch is executed twice.

Click on the photo for a closer look:


I did it in coloured thread so you could see the stitches, then I did it in thread matching the background colour so you can see the effect. I also show you how the back looks:


With this method, the back looks the same as the front.

The second working I did was from Liliana Babbi Cappelletti's excellent booklet (see info below).

Rodi Stitch - Technique 2
Worked from right to left, top to bottom, you do not turn the work to do the return row. Again, pull each stitch to open up the fabric. Each stitch is executed only once. You must make a cross-over stitch at the end of the row in order to return.

Click on the photo for a closer look:


And here is the back:


As you can see, the back looks different from the front with this method. The overall effect is the same, though with only one stitch instead of two, this way looks a bit more delicate (it's hard to tell from these small patches, I know - it is the impression I get when looking at the two patches on my fabric here in my hand).

Liliana Babbi Cappelletti has at least six variations of Rodi Stitch in her instruction booklet: Il punto rodi e le sue varianti, il punto principessa e altri retini di fondo. Text in Italian but very clear diagrams. You can get this booklet from Tombolo Disegni. Click on "Libri/Books", then "Libri Ricamo", then "Ricamo Italiani", send an email request to order. (Note: there are no photos of this book on the page, it is the first entry in a listing.)


I believe the English terminology for this stitch is Faggot Stitch.

Here is a short video on YouTube.