Tuscany is famous for several different craft traditions which continue to this day to a lesser or greater degree. There is gold-smithing of Arezzo, the leather-working of Mugello, the glass-blowing of Empoli, and the transforming of the marble of Volterra into all sorts of wonderful things, to name but a few. One of the most quietly impressive traditions of craft in all of Tuscany, however, has to be Montalbano’s history of truly extraordinary embroidery. For those who book a villa with pool in Lucca or a luxury villa in Florence and are planning day-trips in the area, the beautiful locality of Montalbano, in the province of Pistoia is worth visiting for its exceptional looks alone but is also a place where lovely things have also been made.
A hilly area of the typical Tuscan landscapes one imagines, Montalbano was famously captured in drawings by Da Vinci and is spread out over 16,000 hectares between the provinces of Florence, Prato, and Pistoia. Perhaps inspired by all this natural splendour, women in the area have been making stunning embroidered works of art since the 19th century. Producing daily items embroidered beautifully like tablecloths and items of clothing, they also made more elaborate pieces that are true works of art and decorated churches in the area. In 2017, Laura Merrick curated an exhibition celebrating this work in the town of Lamporecchio (also where straw hats have traditionally been made), one of the centres around which production has historically been fixed, and in Pistoia there is even an Embroidery Museum that can permanently be visited.
So, if you are interested in this extraordinary but often under-celebrated craft and art and you are planning a vacation in Tuscany, then come explore the beautiful landscape of Montalbano and take in the beautiful works made by man here as well!
