Cortale - Silk City
Calabria has a great tradition in the art of silk, and Cortale is one of the places where it is most alive
Where is
At the summit of silk production
At the end of the 19th century regarding the province of Catanzaro, people spoke of the Silk Triangle, pointing to the municipalities of Cortale, Borgia and San Floro as the vertices. An ancient production, the start of which is speculated to have been initiated by even the Jews of the Diaspora. Certainly it was the Norman rulers who favored its establishment by having Greek masters arrive in Calabria and then also by establishing special schools. The fact is that in the sixteenth century the region was among the districts of excellence on the Old Continent, producing a silk that was thought to be unique for an elasticity that then made the fabric unparalleled.
A craftsmanship of ancient tradition
Merit of the climate, it was said, and there is no reason to doubt that silkworm breeding in the land of two seas could yield irreproducible results. Wonderful silks, like certain damasks that were further embellished with gold embroidery. Interesting, the earliest photographic evidence of this tradition: the women of Cortale Vecchia in their characteristic costume, on the doorstep with the spindle and spinning wheel, their shoulders wrapped in a silk shawl with very distinctive designs and colors, from natural dyes. Silkworming was a family activity: everyone in the house raised silkworms and then provided the cocoons from which to make the precious filament.
Still today a production of fine silks
Nowadays Cortale is notable for the persistence of the complete supply chain, from the silkworm to the silk, as local artisans proudly point out, aware that they are among the few if not the only ones left in Italy to do so: shawls and scarves, tablecloths and towels... a whole repertoire of refined artifacts worked on historic looms for those who know how to appreciate a value that goes far beyond their beauty.