Embroidery and lace

Embroidery and lace are, from time immemorial, a passion for all women who love to furnish their own home with taste, not to mention the value that they brought to women’s wardrobes in past fashion. In Umbria, it ranges from fine lace, to noble embroidery with refined colours and laces with a more rustic but modern style, like those of Montefalco.

Since the Middle Ages, the thriving tradition of embroidery has been handed down within the green heart of Italy, along with anecdotes dating back to illustrious characters, such as Saint Clare of Assisi or Catherine de’ Medici, who took the Punto Madama method of embroidering to her court and then to France, which she had learned from the Umbrian Embroiderers.

Few know this, but the town of Deruta, known to the world for its beautiful pottery, also gave rise to two types of embroidery. The first is called “Deruta Antico” (Old Deruta) and dates back to the 13th century, while the second “Deruta Moderno” (Modern Deruta), from the 20th century, reproduces the beautiful decorations of the skilled potters on cloth.

It is thought that filet modano lace is native of San Feliciano, a coastal location in the municipality of Magione, and that it was produced thanks to skills developed by the fishing-net menders, the main local economic resource of the past. Also in the area of Lake Trasimeno, there is the famous Ireland Lace, made using a fine crochet technique and the Ars Panicalensis embroidery on tulle netting

Hand weaving is also worth mentioning and is still carried out in Perugia. It was famous in medieval times for the tablecloths named “Perugine”, used as altar cloths in churches, representing turquoise, red and brown geometric and zoomorphic figures. Hand weaving is also still done in the Alta Valle area (not only tablecloths, but also tapestries and carpets), as well as table linen and lace from the Orvieto area.

For all lovers of these wonderful arts, we recommend a visit to the Museo del Tulle di Panicale(Panicale Tulle Museum), to the Museo del Merletto dell’Isola Maggiore (Lace Museum of Isola Maggiore) in Tuoro sul Trasimeno and the Collezione Tessile di Tela Umbra (Umbrian Cloth Textile Collection) in Città di Castello.