L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano F or decades Tessi- t u r a L u i g i Bevilacqua has collaborated with i c o n i c f a s h i o n designers, such as Valentino, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana. A venerable Venetian institu- tion, the small family-run business inspired interior designers and decorators, including legendary Iris Apfel, who had furnished her New York apartment with Bevilac- qua's tiger- and-leopard-cut velvets. But not only that name is behind some of the world's finest haute couture: it is at the roots of the European s t y l e . B e v i l a c q u a ' s l o o m s made luxury history through exquisite fabrics that highly dramatized the striking sil- houette of the wealthier aris- tocratic women. A l s o , p o p e s a n d k i n g s would demonstrate their sta- t u s t h r o u g h B e v i l a c q u a ' s o u t e r l a y e r s . T e s s i t u r a Bevilacqua left its signature style in royal and presidential palaces, churches and Vatican rooms, opera houses, and hotels. Bevilacqua's yellow-pat- terned velvet embellishes the White House's Oval Office. That plush, smooth fabric fea- tures rhombuses with wavy lines and small trees loaded with berries and oak leaves. I n c o n t r a s t , B e v i l a c q u a ' s crimson ciselé velvet covers chairs in the Kremlin. The thriving family busi- ness embodies the tradition of the Venetian velvet artistry. Today, it continues creating textile masterpieces thanks to in-house artists and a trusted team of weavers trained in the family atelier. Tessitura Bevilacqua has been around for over six cen- turies—it is the oldest active weaving mill in Europe. It is part of the fabric of Venet- ian life, with its historic head- quarters in the Santa Croce d i s t r i c t , o v e r l o o k i n g t h e G r a n d C a n a l . C a ' P e s a r o museum is nearby, and so is the I Frari, a gothic Francis- can basilica that contains m a s t e r p i e c e s s u c h a s T h e Assumption of the Virgin, a radiant, touching painting by Titian- the Venetian master c o l o r i s t ' s t o m b i s i n t h e church. Also the Bevilacquas are splendid colorists. Their vel- vet-weaving lineage dates back to 1499, when Giacomo Bevilacqua started his velvet business, as evidenced by a painting, The Arrest of St. Mark from the Synagogue, showing a parade of Venet- ian aristocracy dressed in velvet togas. An inscription on the bottom right reads: " G i a c o m o B e v i l a c q u a , weaver." A patron of the arts, Giacomo had commissioned V e n e t i a n a r t i s t G i o v a n n i Mansueti, whose paintings are now kept also in Vaduz, Vienna, in the Prince von und zu Liechtenstein collec- tions. Giacomo Bevilacqua was a forefather of Luigi Bevilac- qua, founder of now historic Tessitura. In 1875, Luigi pur- chased a workshop in Fonda- menta San Lorenzo to save the looms of the Serenissima Silk School that Napoleon had closed in 1806 to protect French production. Luigi immediately decided to buy t h e i n n o v a t i v e J a c q u a r d m a c h i n e t o s i m p l i f y t h e process of manufacturing complex patterned textiles while maintaining the quality of Venetian velvets. After Palazzo Labia, the family business settled in the Santa Croce district. And there, it is still operative with its traditional manufacturing of velvets, damasks, bro- cades, and the soprarizzo velvet, typical of Venice. The family has been jealously guarding the secrets of the handmade soprarizzo, the most valuable Venetian vel- vet. Today, Bevilacqua is the o n l y b u s i n e s s i n t h e w o r l d s t i l l m a k i n g it. "This tradition has been lost elsewhere because it is such a slow, careful craft," says Alberto Bevilacqua, CEO of Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua. Soprarizzo is sumptuous and highly textured because of its two different piles: the woven background with a silk sheen, the looped uncut pile, and the highest level with the cut velvet pile, the brocaded fabric. The light reflects on the two velvets dif- ferently, creating a beautiful c h r o m a t i c e f f e c t o f chiaroscuro. T h e n a m e " s o p r a r i z z o " derives from a specific tech- nique: the cut velvet overlays the curly one- it is literally "over the curl" or "sopra il ric- ciolo." Manufacturing soprariz- zo velvet is a slow process. It takes a day to produce only 25 cm of velvet. But the delight of making something whose secrets only a few people in the world know is worth all the effort, they say from Tes- situra Bevilacqua, the last cus- todian of this ancient art. From the 13th to 18th cen- turies, Venice was one of the epicenters of velvet manufac- turing with Genoa and Flo- r e n c e . T h e G e n o e s e w e r e famous for black velvet. Flo- rence was known for produc- ing velvets with looped metal boucle settled into thick silk piles. But the European nobil- ity preferred to wear Venetian velvets for their intricate, extravagant patterns. They were expensive Italian prod- ucts, perhaps the first in a long historical line of luxury goods from Italy. The 1400s and the 1500s were the golden eras of velvet production. The Venetian G u i l d o f V e l v e t W e a v e r s , established in 1347, would slowly weave velvet to supply sumptuous patterned gar- ments to the wealthiest peo- ple that chose Venetian velvet to proclaim their status. By the 1500s, more than one-fifth of Venice's popula- t i o n w o r k e d i n t h e v e l v e t trades. Venice was the top influ- encer of Renaissance fashion. Historians say that in the Doge times, the most skilled Venetian weavers were not allowed to leave the Republic of Venice for fear they might have shared the technique with rival manufacturers. T o d a y T e s s i t u r a L u i g i Bevilacqua is a reason for pride and fascination. The historic building in Santa Croce also hosts the compa- ny's archives, a treasure trove of centuries-old silk damasks, brocades, and gilt-embroi- dered tapestries, all samples of the company's activities. The 3,500 designs range from Byzantine art to Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary art. The archives are a source of inspiration, a past that gen- erates the future. " H e r e , t h e r i s i n g t i d e s cause the floor to flood more often now, but we still pro- duce velvet the same way we did 300 years ago: thread by thread and entirely by hand", h i g h l i g h t s t h e c o m p a n y director Alberto Bevilacqua. T h e T e s s i t u r a u s e s t h e same time-honored tools: the s a m e a n c i e n t l o o m s a n d hand-woven velvet process used in the 1700s. Indian princes, emirs, and sheiks in the Middle East have been commissioning the Bevilacqua House superb velvets that also mesmerized prominent fashion brands. The collaboration with the S w e d i s h d e s i g n e r M a j a Sjöström dates back to the Twenties. Venetian designer Roberta di Camerino in the '50s used the Bevilacqua vel- vets to create her line of leg- e n d a r y b a g s k n o w n a s Bagonghi. Grace Kelly, Elisa- beth Taylor, and Farah Faw- cett would adore them. D u r i n g t h e ' 9 0 s , A n n e Getty, the wife of billionaire and composer Gordon Getty, asked the Tessitura Bevilac- q u a t o r e p r o d u c e the soprarizzo velvet in jade green used for the Gothen- burg City Theatre for their home décor in San Francisco. Today Dolce & Gabbana and the eco-designer Tiziano Guardini create their collec- t i o n s w i t h t h e V e n e t i a n House's velvets that continue filling art shows with magic in every corner of the world, from the Venice Art Biennale to New York and the Instan- bul Museums. Tessitura Luigi Bevilac- qua's genetic predisposition to excellence extends beyond its velvet production to the brand's vast collection of handbags they unveil every year. Their handbag line is t i m e l e s s a n d e l e g a n t a n d made only with Venetian vel- v e t s b a l a n c e d w i t h s o f t , selected Italian leathers. The 2022 collection ranges from m i n i b a g s l i k e A n n a a n d Veronica to spacious models l i k e C e c i l i a a n d i n f o r m a l pieces like Caterina, charac- terized by a modern design covered in Decò Göteborg velvet. The most romantic women choose the refined Peggy featuring Fresie velvet, an example of jardinière vel- vets of rare beauty. N o d o u b t , V e n i c e g a v e much beauty to the world. The last maestros of Venetian velvets MARIELLA RADAELLI A beautiful bag in Tessitura Bevilacqua velvet, available @ItsMartaEffe-Marta Formentello (Photo courtesy of Tessiture Bevilacqua) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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