Giuditta Brozzetti
Click on the above to see who we met today
The tiny, amazing powerhouse of a woman, one Marta Cucchia. In person, at her workshop. In Perugia. What a thrill.
Our good friend, Letizia Mattiacci, has a good friend and she threatened me with a not-so-good death if I failed to meet her this trip.
So, off we went this morning, on the train, to the lovely city of Perugia. Down the hills, past the Etruscan gate, through the campus of the University of Perugia, to the ancient church that is now the workshop of the tiny but powerful Marta.
Marta smiles when she says that she and her siblings used to play tennis in the vast space that how houses her ancient weaving looms. She points to all of the pieces from the press, the NewYork Times, included, which indicate that she is a local celebrity. She tells us that in the fifties, her father purchased the old church in which we stand, and all of the surrounding property and that her great grandmother's weaving business fell into history until she, one day, got the "passion" and made weaving her be-all-and-end-all.
The looms are hundreds of years old. The work is labor-intensive. She brought the looms to the place in which they now reside. She maintains, repairs and works the looms, the first "computers" ever known. Why? Because in ancient weaving times, the designs were formulated by what we now know as "punch cards". The punch cards are still used on these looms and the patterns created are those that were created centuries ago. To make a new pattern is unthinkable and highly impractical.
You simply have to watch the video and look at the website to get somewhat of an appreciation for who Marta is and what she does. We cannot possibly explain this one.
Enjoy!
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