Today we went to Catanzaro. Since before the medieval times, Catanzaro has been home to one of the most important silk industries in Europe, once supplying tapestries to the Vatican. In a lonely village near Catanzaro, a group of Calabrian youth has gathered to rejuvenate this dying tradition. From their base inside a Mulberry Tree orchard, they breed silkworms, experiment with new all-natural colors and give travelers (us) a hands-on experience at extracting silk.
First, our beautiful hotel has breakfast on the rooftop terrace. We gathered there between 8 am and 9 am for a delicious hot breakfast with fruit, cold cuts, yogurt, cereals, coffee, orange juice, etc.
We met Dominico at 9 am and since there were so many of us (6) as opposed to 5 years ago when it was just Laura and I, we have a big van AND a driver, Mario. Mario spoke no English. But Dominico speaks Italian and English and probably more languages as well. The drive took just under an hour and we started at the Nido De Seta museum.
I feel like they (Nido di Seta) have grown immensely in the five years since Laura and I visited and I couldn’t be happier for them. The youth of Calabria tend to grow up and move out of the region because it is a poor region and they are looking for more opportunities elsewhere. But Miriam and Domenico decided to stay or in Miriam’s case come back to the region and re-kindle a dying tradition.
Inside the museum was a loom that used to be in every grandmothers house years ago. It was used to make dish towels, sheets, etc. We got to try our hand at the process of weaving with the machine. Apparently we were not near as fast as the women of the past were.
The tour of the museum was not too long and not too short. Just right. We learned about how they have tried “natural” items as dye for the silk (like flowers, seeds) and there was a “town” purple wedding dress on display that 100 years ago was the wedding dress for the women in the town to share as they got married. The purple was still very vibrant.
We then got back in the vans and drove to the “farm.” Here we learned that 400-500 eggs are laid at one time and they are as small as the tip of a pin.
From there they eventually begin to spin a cocoon (OF SILK!)
I believe the entire life cycle of the silk worm/moth is 28 days. That is an incredible metamorphosis in a short amount of time. The cocoons are then taken and they have serafin and silk. They described the serafin as “like a glue.” So they boil the cocoons and then dry them off and then put them in a pot. A brush of some type is used and usually about 7-10 strands of silk are brought up and what Jess and Joe are doing here is weaving the strands into one strand. It is a very cool process and we each took a turn.
In 2023 Gucci entered into an agreement with Nido De Seta to buy silk from them for their Gucci Nature-Positive line. That’s a whole other story, but really cool to see the growth in 5 years time.
From here some of us walked and some of us drove to a restaurant. I feel like it is their restaurant for their guests. Jessica joked today about how we ate for 6 hours today. This was at least 3 of those hours. We drank wine, had several courses of food, and had entertainment in between each course. It was an “experience” we will not forget. We are working with Cherrye with My Bella Vita on this trip and there was another small group doing the same, so we were able to share the day with them and that made it even more special.
There may have been dancing as well (yes all of us).
We got back to our hotel around 5:30 p.m. and vowed to meet again at 7:00 p.m. for more food. That dinner/supper took about 2 hours and now as soon as I hit send on this post, I’ll be enjoying my bed once again.
Tomorrow is our Ancestry Day. I hope my family enjoys it as much as I did when I came with Laura.
Buona Notte!
- When Did I Stop Listening to the Strings?
- The Deters’ Trip to Southern Italy, Monday, May 24.
- The Deters’ Family Adventure in Southern Italy – Sunday, May 26, 2024
- The Deters’ Family Adventure in Southern Italy – Saturday, May 25, 2024
- The Deters’ Family Ancestry Adventure in Southern Italy – Friday 5/24
Thank you Patty for such a detailed report on what you are learning. Sounds like a great time for you all.