It was almost 6 o’clock in the afternoon, and while I was walking around the narrow streets of Offida, a small Italian village in the Marche Region, an illuminated shop window in a small street suddenly called my attention. There was an old lady inside making Bobbin laces and she stared at us with curiosity. My instinct said that I had to go inside, since I felt that the old lady had a lot of interesting things to talk me about.
It was a really small shop that seemed like a lobby of a house, and the walls were decorated with framed Bobbin laces, some of them seemingly invaluable. This was Rosina’s tiny kingdom, where Rosina, an 80 year old woman has been making Bobbin laces, a kind of lace typical of this region, since she was 10.
Proud of her work, she told me that it is very hard to learn working well with Bobbin lace, and although she has been doing it work for 70 years, she wouldn’t be able to make many of the pieces exhibited in her studio. She told me that her grandmother also had a small shop and the money her grandmother gained by selling these laces was enough to provide for the whole family, not like nowadays.
She also told me in a somewhat sad voice that she doesn’t have any daughters, only sons, and they have not got married. Hence, she can’t pass the secrets to another member of the family. The cultural tradition in our family of making Bobbin laces in Offida will die out with me – she said in a resigned voice.
Afterwards, she grabbed an album that contains a photo of all the Bobbin laces made by herself, and she explained how long it took to make the different items. She showed me a black shawl that she had been working on for 4 years, the value of which is too high to be solved.
Rosina brought me back in time to my childhood, when I was regularly observing my grandmother, while she was embroidering. It’s a shame that little by little many of these cultural traditions disappear, and it’s a privilege and honor to have the possibility of listening to histories told by people like Rosina.
In the end, I leave you an interview video that I grabbed, where Rosina tells us about her life and the cultural tradition of Bobbin laces in Offida.
Though bobbin laces aren’t really something I ever thought I’d find myself reading about, I must admit that her love for the process and detail in what she does is incredibly admirable, especially in a time where so many crafts are not being done with hands any more, but my machines.
Beautiful. The next time I’m in Marche I’ll have to see if I can find her shop. I love all of the arts here in Italy and it is truly sad that many of the old ways are dying out.
I love these small places that try to keep things from our past, I am sure that you will love this small shop in Offida too!
What a sweet lady. I love traveling and finding people like her.
Yes, she was such a charming person with interesting stories to tell!