December 2024 - ARAZZERIA SCASSA (tapestry workshop Scassa) ASTI, ITALY

“You have to pick up every stitch”

A traditional artisanal workshop still feels like a mythical space, a place that somehow stands apart from the modern world. The idea of people working away on ancient crafts in treasured spaces using skills that have taken many long days and nights to acquire is something immensely inspiring. To be able to visit such a place is an absolute privilege.

One sunny frosty December morning last year (2023) in Asti, a town less than an hour’s drive away from Turin in Piedmont, northern Italy we went to visit the ARAZZERIA SCASSA (tapestry Atelier Scassa) The family run business has produced high quality contemporary tapestry reproductions of famous works of art since the 1920's and is still one of the only arazzerias operating in Italy to date. It operates from an ancient 12th century monastery.

Given the monastic heritage of the site it seems appropriate that there be an artisanal workshop there now. The international artists (and associated foundations) who have commissioned work from the Arazzeria Scassa impressively include Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Henry Matisse, Jean Miro as well as artists more famous within Italy such as Corrado Cagli, Anthony Corpora and Giulio Turcato. Their tapestries hang in the Holy Residence in the Vatican as well as the Quirinal Palace in Rome.

Each tapestry can measure up to 5 metres long and take many months, even years to complete. All the work is done by hand, often with 3 women from the family working on it once. Even the most simple sections can take 500 to 600 hours per square metre. This is time experienced at a monastic pace!

Massimo generously gifted us a beautiful book and some prints of the tapestries

The charming Massimo Bilotta, nephew of its founder Ugo Scassa and now sole administrator of Scassa Azerria and his mother Francka

Hanna as a textile lover particularly loves embroidery in all it's forms. A past project of hers involved an old early century footstool with a traditional faded, tired looking floral needlepoint pattern which she used as a base to embroider over and incorporate a more vibrant mexican inspired pattern

Cones of richly coloured tapestry wool stacked high, enormous tapestries pinned to walls, piles of posters, tools, images of the studio from the 30's and 40's and of course, the imposing high warp looms dating from the 17th century that they still use.

Franca (Massimo's mother) a shy warm lady sat working on a piece using techniques that have barely changed in hundreds of years. Franca has been creating these tapestries this way for 65 years. The artwork is light projected onto the warp and traced loosely with a pencil weft threads and traced around before the colour is manually pulled across using a traditional technique. Every shade of the original painting is carefully considered and the chromatic effects are achieved by carefully combining up to 5 different coloured threads. The tapestry becomes an interpretation of the original and as such stands alone as a work of art.

Franca told us that she enjoys working on the abstract pieces the most because they require the most thought and consideration.

As two people who love textile in all its forms, this was an amazing privilege seeing such a talented artisan work.

To visit such a historic place through whose doors even popes have passed and to be told the story of the company in such a personal way that only he can being a direct relation to the founder was an incredible privilege. It was such an inspiring insight into a highly skilled and endangered craft and a fascinating glimpse into the rich cultural history of Italy.

Here you can see a short 3 minute film about the tapestry workshop.

Arazzeria Scassa on Instagram