Florence has been one of the most important centres of textile culture since the Renaissance. The Lisio Foundation in Florence, Italy, organises courses and seminars in English for institutions or private groups on specific historical, technical or practical themes, and for individual training courses and developing research projects.
The courses are aimed at students, technicians and textile designers and the school program provides full immersion classes on : analysis of textiles and laces, conservation and creating jacquard textiles.
The educational program has been designed to broaden textile culture and ensure the preservation on antique techniques. The Lisio Foundation school also has looms for figured silk velvets and gold brocades.
The Foundation also manufactures to order, various forms of figured silks. The designs and patterns of the collection are part of the legacy left by the original LISIO Silk Mill. They represent all the decorative typologies in vogue between the Middle Ages and the early 1900s either reproduced from original period textiles or reconstructed from depictions in paintings by the great masters of Italian art.
Additionally the Foundation has an archive and libray, they also publish a six monthly journal Jacquard which features historical and scientific studies in the fields of woven textiles, embroidery, lace, tapestries and carpets, history of dress, ecclesiastical vestments and church furnishings. Also articles concerning museums, cultural institutions, public and private collections, studies by recent graduates, news items about major cultural events regarding textiles, contemporary weaving and textile education.
The Lisio Foundation is located 20 minutes from the centre of Florence. The institution offers lodging for a maximum of 7 people, accomodated in double/single rooms in small apartments into its property, at affordable prices, which are available for all participants to their courses.
The calender of courses can be seen on the Lisio Foundations website
The Foundation welcomes any enquiries.
Text and images courtesy of the Lisio Foundation. Image captions: Drawing a design, preparing the technical sheet, punching and binding/lacing cartons/punchcards and finally weaving their own project.
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