Home:
Handicraft
Typical handicraft
In Umbria, every aspect of life is
connected and intertwined.
Art and handicraft, both expressions of the great medieval culture, and
then the Renaissance, have been refined over the centuries by means of ongoing
exchanges.
Regional handicraft, then,
is always something more than simply
the production of tools and objects for
everyday needs. Umbrian handicrafts
have reached results of superior
aesthetic value, kept alive up to the
present day by tradition, ongoing study,
and revival efforts.
Artistic ceramics
The ceramics of Deruta, Perugia, Gubbio, Gualdo Tadino, Orvieto, Città
di Castello, are world
renowned.
The origin of this production dates as far back as the Etruscans, and fine
ceramics were produced here in the Middle Ages.
But it was during
the Renaissance that the art
reached its maximum splendour,
admired and sought after by the
nobles of all of Europe.
Refined decorations and colours (gold, cobalt, white glaze) embellished
the piatti da pompa, plates used for special occasions, the coppe amatorie,
the gift of love on which female figures and romantic inscriptions were
painted, and the exquisite floor tiles.
Wood-working
Wood-working in Umbria was
expressed in history at two levels: the
popular one involving the fabrication
of objects for everyday life and
farm work, and the cultured one of
marquetry for decorating the interiors
of churches and palaces between
the Renaissance and the Baroque
period.
Also characteristic were the
wooden crèches, a custom revived
in the Monumental Crèche displayed
each year in Città della Pieve.
In any
case, wood-working today mainly
involves antique restoration and the
production of furniture in period
style.
The main wood-working
centres are Città di Castello,
Gubbio, Assisi, Perugia, and
Todi, which still has cabinetmakers
and sculptors.
Textiles and lace
Textile production in the
region dates back to the
12th century, from whence
it became celebrated
throughout Europe.
Medieval and
Renaissance techniques, colours,
and designs have been faithfully
recovered by artisans who still today
use centuries-old wooden weaving
frames.
Perugia, Città di Castello,
Orvieto, and Montefalco all feature
the production of fine fabrics (those in
linen are amongst the best in Italy),
decorated with ancient geometric
motifs in blue, red, and gold, bearing
the symbol of Perugia, the Griffi n.
Lake Trasimeno, on the other hand,
boasts extraordinary lacework: Irish
lace and pillow lace on Isola Maggiore,
and in Panicale, tulle embroidered
by hand according to the precious
Ars Panicalensis method.
Embroidery
featuring the “Assisi stitch” (or
“Franciscan stitch”), a double crossstitch
technique invented in the Middle
Ages, still survives in Assisi and Città di
Castello.
Iron work
Gubbio proudly carries on its wrought iron work, entrusted to skilled
and imaginative blacksmiths who create gates, signs, coins, keys, weapons,
and more.
Objects in wrought iron, especially decorative tools, jugs, andirons,
and baking moulds, can also be found in Orvieto, Cascia, Magione, and Passignano.
