Welcome to La Tela: Museum of Artisan Weaving and Workshop in Macerata, located in the interior of Italy’s Marche region. It is surprising to find such a dedicated, even detailed interest in the preservation of old weaving traditions and at the same time have such an active engagement and collaboration within the community (via workshops and programs) and outside (with haute couture brands like Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Calvin Klein – to name a few). Attention to detail has never looked and felt so beautiful like this. They even have a garden exclusively for the cultivation of plants traditionally used to color yarns for making fabrics/tapestries.





I had the honor of living right next door to them for about a year and during that time I took a short course on weaving and made my own scarf. One time I saw some Peruvian women dressed in traditional garb working on the looms, sharing their style and techniques and another time there was a play on the story of Penelope, wife of Odysseus, who wove and unwove the shroud for her father-in-law to keep her suitors at bay. The presence of the past mingling with that of the present appear in their work, in the careful use of materials and in the aesthetic they so wonderfully weave into their space and their rhythms. Find more of La Tela at www.LaTela.net

Maria Giovanna Varagona

Patrizia Ginesi