As our group of quilters descended upon Italy we were anxious to partake in all that this beautiful country had to offer…….and we were hoping to discover a quilt shop or two along the way. Well, quilt shops in Rome, Florence and Sienna are not a common sight. We did find some wool to please the knitters among us and there was a fabric store in Florence that catered to garment designers with prices that were astounding (the first bolt I pulled out was 240 Euro/meter!!!)
Towards the end of the trip we spotted a quilt in the small, mid-evil village of Cortona.
But, upon closer examination, I’m pretty sure it was a pre-printed panel. Still it did look picturesque hanging in the narrow street.
So, what was there to tickle the fancy of quilters? Plenty! You may have already heard (or experienced first hand) the beautiful quilt designs on the floors of the cathedrals in Italy. In this we were not disappointed and here are just a few of my favorites:
If that was a bit too intricate how about this:
And just one more:
The landscapes and art work were all very inspirational, as was the architecture. While staring in awe at the dome of the Pantheon Wendy remarked that it reminded her of log cabin blocks.
This dome was built about 2000 years ago and is still standing! The oculus in the center is open and when it rains the rain comes in. It was one of my favorite sites.
While winding our way back to the bus after our visit to Cortona one of the group pointed out this empty storefront and commented that there was an obvious lack of quilters and supplies in central Italy and perhaps I should open up a shop and teach beginner classes.
I’ll have to talk it over with Mike :-)!
Have any of you made a quilt inspired by the cathedral floors in Europe? The art or scenery?? I’d really enjoy hearing about it and would love to have you email me a picture:
Terry Gilman says
Hi! I visited Italy this past summer. While in Venice, I visited the basilica in St. Mark’s Square and I took pictures of the floor as well as they are all quilt-type designs. My plan is to make a quilt as a memory of my trip, but I expect that to happen a few years from now … ! It was fun to see your pictures and realize that the same designs exist in other places there. I still have to research when these designs were created and by whom. I was surprised not to see any fabric or thread shops there at all… I found the same to be true in both Holland and Germany as well.