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

CLAY AND NATURE IN POSITANO

Elisabetta, sculptress

Immersed in the luxuriant and wild nature that this territory still offers in abundance. Along the hills cordillera of the Peninsula, going down towards the breath-taking coasts. There where at sunrise and sunset you can spot dolphins jumping through the waves. Among so much beauty, we'll find the inspiration, in its harmonious geometries and in the perfume of its colors. We'll create objects by using clay gathered exactly in these places. We'll immerse ourselves in moments where the nature will create with us, filling ourselves with its most luxuriant expression. We'll shape our precious artworks in an upland in front of a 360° view. We'll decorate by observing the geometry of a leaf or using the streaked surface of a shell found on the cliffs. Listening the symphony of the breeze among the branches in a little clearing. In the evening we'll fire our objects relaxing ourselves around the fire. This creative path will occur at the “Rifugio La Selva” in Positano. It's an evocative place with the slopes of Montepertuso behind his back. The perfect location for this workshop that will accompany us for a full day.

POSITANO, Sa

THE SECRET COLORS OF LANDS

Elisabetta, sculptress

With this experience I'm offering an evocative journey through the ages. I'll show you the manufacturing of soils and of their colors. I'll tell you and I'll let you try, manually, the fascinating working technique used by the potters of the Roman times. They were considered as great artists, so much that their artworks were valued as gold! I'll guide you through the handmade creation of small jewels and other objects of your choice. You can bring them with you, or better, I'll send them to you once they are fired. Through this workshop you'll find out the connections of our territory with the ancient past. This is in fact characterized by the population of “Stabiae” (the current Castellammare di Stabia), which was the favorite “holiday destination” of patricians. If weather permits, we'll work open air with a panoramic view on the Naples Gulf, with the majestic Vesuvio in front of us.

CASTELLAMMARE DI STABIA, Na

INSIDE THE LUTHIER LAB

Eugenio Lorenzo, luthier

People that come to visit me in my world find measurements, cuts and sounds. I like to explain my job and tell people why I do it. By spending a couple of hours with me, you'll be able to discover how a guitar is crafted starting from a piece of wood, in a journey through many sensorial experiences: different wood smells, weights, colours or textures. Being a job that's strongly connected to this land, you will see how a joiner's shop works, and during your visit, you will have a chance to see a musician try a brand new instrument, learn how wood is bent or how the guitar neck is sculpted. My job is not made out of secrets, but instead its main ingredient is experienced dexterity. Discover it by yourself!

VIBO VALENTIA, Vv

CERAMIC RESTORATION

Cinzia, ceramist

The ancient or modern ceramic restoration work begins with the finding of all the fragments, the assembly with appropriate adhesives and the plaster or resin integration of the missing parts, and the reconstruction of some parts if necessary. The final stage is the pictorial reparation, which will adapt the new parts to the original color of the original piece.

SENIGALLIA, An

YOUR LITTLE TAPESTRY

Mariagrazia, weaver

You will be welcomed in my atelier, where I'll unveil you the magic and the secrets of hand-weaving. You will learn how a 4 and 8 healds loom works. You could try yourself to use a loom, specifically a "telaio/cassetta", to create a little tapestry to bring back home with you. There will be various spun available so that you can free your creative energy.

GUBBIO, Pg

FACCIAMO IL PAIO SHOES & DRINK

Olivia, shoe maker and designer

Tre serate esclusive all'insegna del romanticismo in cui potrete gustare un aperitivo in laboratorio a lume di candela mentre progettate le vostre scarpe di coppia. Possiamo incidere insieme i vostri nomi come all’interno delle fedi o progettare qualsiasi altra personalizzazione che racconti qualcosa di voi! ...un modo diverso per festeggiare non solo San Valentino, ma anche tutto il cammino che si fa a due. Le scarpe saranno poi realizzate da me e spedite direttamente a casa vostra!

PESARO, Pu

STUCCO WILL BRING YOU LUCK!

PATRIZIA, artisan of gypsum

Are you ready for a journey among beauty? I'm going to take you in the fascinating world of stucco, a history as ancient as man. Imprints in mud can be considered as primordial molds. It all begins from the gypsum's dust that capable hands transform into artworks. With this you will prepare the mixture to be poured into molds that are made in the atelier. All the creative-productive process, in fact, is the result of research, experience and know-how accumulated over many years. Now have fun: wear Renaissance fashion aprons, use brushes, colors, soils, glues, shine with brass, silver, and gold leaves, paint with ancient lacquers, rub the beeswax, sign your work to make it unique! Believe it or not, it's suggestive and fascinating to create an object that brings good luck and wellness within our homes. During this workshop I will initially present to you my activity. After an introduction to the ancient art of stucco, we will go through the preparation of the dough base. Once we have done this, we will proceed with the pouring in the horn of plenty and pomegranates' molds. We'll then get ready for the leaf gilding. At this point we'll move to the leaf lightening of the relieves, before passing to the pictorial decoration and to the brush writing. Once we are done with these stages, we'll be ready for the painting, the coating and the final lacquering. At the end of the workshop I'll provide you with the object that you created, the booklet, the Diploma of Participation and the “weirdo license” of Gubbio. This envisages a really particular procedure to be carried out, exactly in front of my atelier!

GUBBIO, Pg

LEATHER CLASS

Giuseppe, leather craftsman

During this experience you'll be able to create 4 small leather or fabric goods, such as frames for your photos or a hard cover for your personal planner. You can choose the type and color of material to work with and, under our guidance, you will learn all the steps for the realization of the products that you will bring home as a memory of the experience. The workshop will end up with a dinner based on pizza, cooked in a wood oven at the craftsman's house.

GUBBIO, Pg