The San Martino Lane Fair is back in Florence – What to do
Florence, November 4 – Weavers, spinners, dyers, felters, knitters and seamstresses. They will be the protagonists of the San Martino Wool Fair, the exhibition-market dedicated to local lanes and yarns with demonstrations of manual weaving, workshops for children and products marked by tradition and durable fashion, scheduled for Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 November, in piazza della SS Annunziata, in Florence (9 am -19).
After two years of stop due to the health emergency, the characteristic two days of November returns to animate the Florentine square with on display and for sale, native breeds wools both in staples and in flaps, hand-spun or hand-woven .
“In November the Fierucola re-proposes the fourteenth-century Fiera di San Martino on the occasion of which wool and dyed cloths and fabrics were sold in Florence in the countryside and within the city walls” – declares Sandra Pelli, president of the La Fierucola Association of Florence APS. “But if in the fourteenth century, wool from all over the world arrived in Florence, today with this priority, local wools, those from small farms, artisanal spinning, natural dyeing, textile works and tailoring should be given priority. It will be an opportunity for a safe recovery to live our traditions again ”.
Wool, silk, cotton, hemp: during the two days it will be possible to find yarns in the natural shades of the fleece – from white to black through shades of gray and warm brown – or yarns with unique colors, dyed with natural pigments (roots madder for the fiery red, walnut for the brown, indigo for the blue, ivy for the green, cochineal for the pinks, onion, tansy and chamomile for the yellow).
Among the novelties of this edition, which has always been dedicated to ethical, sustainable and environmentally friendly textiles, we would like to point out Saturday 6 November the meeting entitled “Stories of wools and shepherds”, on the most recent initiatives aimed at the reintroduction of Italian wool in the production chains Afterwards, at about 3.30 pm, the artisan / artist Romina Dogliani, who has finished the wool of the sheep of her territory as a material of choice, will tell about her experience and will show how to transform the rustic local wools into tapestries, revealing little secrets to make felt using soap and water. which that of the Sardinian dyer Maurizio Savoldo who will illustrate the techniques (2 pm) and to follow an eco-print test on fabrics by Laura dell’Erba.
Not just textiles. Other artisans will also be present at the fair, with products ranging from organic farming, with seasonal fruit and vegetables, wine and oil, cheeses from open-air farms and ancient grain flours to artifacts created with natural and traditional materials such as ceramic tableware, olive wood cutting boards and utensils, birdhouses, handmade shoes with natural tanned leather, games for children and natural soaps.
Maurizio Costanzo
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