THE WEAVING ART IN PERUGIA

Marta, weaver

Welcome to my atelier in the heart of Perugia! It will be a pleasure to host you in my atelier, the former Church of San Francesco delle Donne, a deconsecrated building that in 1200AD was the first Franciscan church in Perugia. Since 1996, the hand-weaving workshop of Giuditta Brozzetti—my great-grandmother and founder of the atelier—has been based in these magnificent premises, and today it is one of the last places in Italy to practice hand-weaving. I will tell you the history of the workshop, started in 1921 with the intuition of Giuditta who recovered traditional motifs and designs from the Umbrian territory and founded the workshop-school for the production of high quality artistic fabrics for home furnishings. Millennial techniques and ancient production phases are still used today to create incredibly contemporary fabrics of historical inspiration. I will show you our artistic production that has been hand-woven in linen, cotton, silk, cashmere blend and gold and silver laminate on antique eighteenth-century pedal looms and nineteenth-century Jacquard looms. You will understand the functioning of our imposing Jacquard looms and of my beloved original loom of the 1700s, with which I still make copies of the fabrics found in the frescoes by Pinturicchio, Giotto, and Luca Signorelli, but also the initial phase of the work process: the preparation of the warp and weft, set up with a machine that was modified by Leonardo da Vinci, according to a system that is more than 500 years old! After discovering the secrets of production, you will test yourself under my guide, creating a decorative tassel made with the yarns I use for my production, which you can take home with you as a souvenir of the experience!

PERUGIA, Pg

AMONG GYPSUM AND STUCCO

PATRIZIA, artisan of gypsum

This experience is for all those who want to discover the fascinating world of stucco. It is ancient art that consists in the transformation of the gypsum's dust into artworks. After a brief introduction to my activity, I'll introduce you to this craft, and I'll tell you of how is born my passion culminated with the opening of the artisan atelier. We'll then analyze the preparation of the various models, the creation of the ancient and modern molds, before doing the dough base. Once you learnt this, we'll run through the different production techniques, such as the pouring in the molds, the press and the etching. We'll thus go through the foundation of this wonderful art! We'll then together try to apply the notions you learnt previously, by creating a frame with metal mold. Later it will be completed with leaf gilding, coating and pictorial decoration. An educational experience for everyone who wants to learn something about this world, within an atelier where everyday “you get your hands dirty”!

GUBBIO, Pg

RESTORATION AND FAMILY

Maria Josè, restorer

We'll tell you the story of our artisan family, showing you the various activities, from faithful reproduction of vintage furniture, painting, gilding, restoration, cabinetmaking, up to turning. We'll experience together the emotion in the final creation of a wooden-tile. We'll use the pounce technique, the original gilding technique (“doratura a guazzo”), and/or the painting with colors prepared as our ancestors used to do. You'll keep the final artwork as a memory of the morning we'll spend together.

GUBBIO, Pg