The Punto Assisi: the books

Italy has (rightly) always been the symbol of art and culture in the world. Painting, sculpture, music, just to mention some of the so-called "main arts" have been developed in our country, so rich during the centuries of artists and masters. Also embroidery, a "minor art" but, in any case an art full of beauty and elegance, has Italian roots and some specific techniques were born within Italian boundaries and then become famous all over the world.

That is the case of the Punto Assisi, hand-made embroidery which is a real artistic craft and that in the last few years has caught the attention of the people who see in tradition a real link between present and past.
As says Raffaella Bartolucci Cesaretti, author of two volumes on this art - Il Punto Assisi - Storia di un ricamo antico and Il Punto Assisi - Tavole Edite e Inedite di un Ricamo Antico - "in each Italian region there's a boom of initiatives to protect and make people know the best of local crafts. In Umbria, land rich of good traditions, the most important embroidery is a counted stitch one, the Punto Assisi, which has had a great impact in the story of the city." Getting concentrated on this technique, Bartolucci Cesaretti has collected charts, embroideries, instructions and a lot of ideas which are useful for this "San Francis' art" created by the sisters of Assisi, engaged to thread very delicate fabrics to support Saint Clair who was obliged by an illness to stand still in her bed.

It is a simple stitch, a bit spartan, but very elegant. You start from the boundaries, you traces the lines of the selected drawing and you leave the inner part blank. The background has to be cross-stitched as to put the drawing in evidence. Finally, the work is finished with a check and a hem. All the precise instructions are given in the books by Raffaella