Seminar of Furniture, Interior Design and Antiques (III )
Textiles and Furniture 2 weeks - 71 hours

In Tuscany, as well as in other regions of central Italy, among the many aspects of artistic craftsmanship, the production of fabrics for interior decoration is abundant: gorgeous fabrics for the table and for trousseaus, for curtains and linings, reproduce designs and colours typical of the tradition which extends from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century. These fabrics, hand- made with old-fashioned looms, are nowadays of priceless value. During the Renaissance, Italian fabrics were the most requested and the most elegant; nowadays the tradition goes on in Tuscany and in other regions of Central Italy (such as Umbria, Marche and Abruzzi) by maintaining the decoration and colours of past times and by using the same skill and wisdom. The decorations taken from the courtly world, the Renaissance-time pomegranate, the geometrical designs, are not only faithful to tradition but they also represent a culture which comes from experiences and skills accumulated in centuries of history and work.

SYLLABUS
Lessons of History of Fabrics for Furnishings, together with lessons of Italian, will be held and they will range through the centuries, from the medieval production to our times. To understand the Art of Weaving, the Theory of the Color and the Graphic Study of Decoration are fundamental in order to learn how to blend the exact shades of colours and for the weaving and printing of the fabric.

GUIDED VISITS
Visits will be made to factories which reproduce ancient fabrics and to Museums where fabrics of high artistic value can be admired, both in Florence and in the Arezzo Land.