By Our Editorial Staff
The five hundredth anniversary of Pietro Vannucci’s death is an opportunity, as well as the common thread, to present the exhibition ‘Intertwining of threads and spindles’; a tribute to the artist known as ‘Il Perugino’ and defined by Agostino Chigi as ‘the best master of Italy’: considered for his artistic pre-eminence, one of the most influential painters of his time, an absolute protagonist of the Italian Renaissance.
An extraordinary series of events and events have been dedicated to him for this important anniversary in all the Umbrian places where he was born, died, lived or his works are preserved.
In Panicale, in 2023, where the famous work of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian is preserved, and precisely on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the death of the famous artist, it was decided to dedicate the eleventh edition of the ‘Fili in Trama’ event to Perugino; this year, it will instead take place from 5 to 7 September. The event is now one of the most important national fairs, with guided tours, performances, art and craft workshops.
Last but not least, since it is a unique idea of its kind, also an original bobbin concert!
The exhibition of tassels: ‘Perugino. Weaves of threads and spindles’, organized for the first time in that eleventh edition, is supported today by a catalogue, presented on the occasion of the last edition of the Creattiva fair in Bergamo. In an event dedicated to Umbrian artistic craftsmanship, the close link between the arts applied to the painting of the great master of the Italian Renaissance was highlighted. The exhibition and catalogue “Perugino. Interweaving threads and spindles” is a tribute to our master made with those applied arts that owe him an infinite repertoire of decorative motifs still used today: majolica, embroidery and lace.
In the form of the ancient majolica spindles – tools for spinning, but also Umbrian tokens of love from the 1500s – details taken from Perugino’s frescoes have been painted in exclusive unique miniature pieces; then, following the example of the twentieth-century tradition, the masters of embroidery and lace from all over Italy have made a tassel for each spindle, skilfully intertwining the threads.
Teachers from all over Italy – for the best teacher in Italy!
Not only great works, frescoes, monuments and natural beauty, but also what are called ‘minor arts’ – which have a value so rooted in the places where the processes have been handed down, that they have an identity character.
From this comes the idea of creating postcards for each event that contain not only the most representative images of a place but also its traditional craftsmanship: “On the occasion of the ‘Island of Lace’ in Isola Maggiore di Tuoro sul Trasimeno – they tell us – we created a postcard with the image of the island and its typical lace in a radiant moon – that reflects the decorations of the lace on the waters of Lake Trasimeno. Thus, was born the first postcard containing a real handmade lace with the technique and decorations typical of Irish lace: ‘Greetings from Isola Maggiore’. This will be followed by the experience of ‘Terre e Trame’: the postcard ‘Greetings from Orvieto’, with two significant works of this city, the grandeur of the Cathedral and the refinement of Orvieto lace. The latest creation in chronological order is ‘Greetings from Panicale’ which represents the splendid square of the city with its characteristic fountain and contains a precious artifact of embroidery on tulle, typical of this splendid village”.
“The success of the first embroidery and lace postcards, unique in this kind, prompted us to extend the project to the whole of Umbria. It is precisely the rose window that inspired this further ambitious idea. One of the most significant images of our beautiful region is certainly represented by its monumental heritage of churches spread throughout the territory, both in the largest and smallest centres, most of which are beautifully preserved. Set in the facades of the Gothic and Roman churches of our region, the rose window represents an admirable example of lace,” they continue their story.
Representing Umbria, in this first extraordinary collection of postcards, will be the rose windows of its churches reproduced in embroidery and lace. ‘Major art’ and ‘minor art’, together with depicting a territory for a product of great value, not only cultural but also artistic: each postcard contains a 6 cm miniature work made of embroidery or lace. An invitation to admire a lesser-known Umbria through the interpretations of eclectic artists who wanted to face a prestigious, difficult, but exciting challenge.
‘Creattiva’ Is the Home of Manual Arts
The Promoberg international exhibition brought together a multitude of people from all over Italy and partly (increasingly) from abroad. Held last March, the 31st edition of ‘Creattiva’ at Fiera Bergamo hit the mark: at the end of four very intense days of imagination and sharing, Promoberg’s international exhibition dedicated to the variegated planet of manual arts attracted over 49 thousand people, who came to the city from all over Italy (including the islands) and in part also from abroad (in this case facilitated by flights from the neighbouring BGY international airport). Many women have decided to celebrate (in the company of friends, in groups or with the family, among grandparents and grandchildren) the party dedicated to them in Creattiva, the female event par excellence of the Promoberg portfolio.
Among the stands – set up on 15 thousand square meters covered by 233 companies (about twenty foreign ones), from 18 Italian regions and 10 foreign states – there was only the embarrassment of choice: there was really everything and more, including the inevitable innovations in the sector, to create unique and original products with their own hands, to wear or put on display in your home, or to give to your loved ones. To give just a few examples, we mention the many proposals in terms of fabrics and yarns, sewing and creative embroidery, scrapbooking, decorations, costume jewellery and beads. But the product sectors were full to satisfy even the most particular and demanding requests. The rich calendar of collateral events has been confirmed as a winning plus, with over a thousand appointments (including courses, demonstrations and workshops) that have characterized the show since the first edition (in 2008), crowning the participants in the queens of the event. The trend that has been underway for years continues, which sees an increasingly multigenerational audience arrive at the fair (visitors under 30 and the male audience are increasing), who love to gather in the name of sharing around the great theme of manual arts, a universe of creativity to be experienced and realized in the round.’
Creattiva’ is certainly a festival of manual arts, but also an event that creates business. The Embroidery Area deserves a special mention, never so rich and participated as this year, with over 40 subjects (including schools and associations in the Embroidery and Lace sector), coming from all over Italy, including the islands.
Among them many excellences, those of the Trasimeno-Orvieto area in Umbria, with the Ars Panicalensis – Embroidery on Tulle of Panicale, the lace of Orvieto Ars Vetana, the Irish lace of Isola Maggiore, the Filet of San Feliciano, Graziella Bennati Goldsmith creative lace of jewelry in Irish lace technique with silver and gold thread. Bergamo Creattiva was also an opportunity to promote events in the Umbrian territory related to lace and embroidery such as Fili in Trama, the Island of Lace, Terre e Trame in Orvieto and the embroidered postcards project ‘Greetings from…’, linked to the events.
On the subject of institutional presence, we mention for all the area set up by the ‘GAL Trasimeno Orvietano’ (we are in Umbria, straddling the provinces of Terni and Perugia), which saw the participation of several schools and which, with the intervention of the director of the GAL itself, Francesca Caproni, presented three initiatives: an exhibition of tassels (about forty) dedicated to Pietro Vannucci (known as Perugino), with the masterful reproduction by female artists of interweaving threads and spindles between lace and embroidery and the Ricco Deruta (prestigious ceramics of the highest quality); for the occasion, the catalogue was previewed, edited by Anna Lisa Piccioni, artistic director; A second exhibition featured the reproductions (in miniature, but for this very reason even more extraordinary) made of lace and embroidery, of the rose windows of Umbrian churches, to which more and more churches from other Italian regions are being added. Finally, always in embroidery and lace and always in miniature, the creation of postcards.
The Promoberg International Manual Arts Exhibition has therefore confirmed itself as an unmissable event for the many manual arts enthusiasts scattered throughout the country and a reference point for associations and institutions, which have the opportunity to promote ancient traditions, culture and history that result in real works of art.
