The Italian Cultural Institute, Valletta
presents
“La Scatola Magica”
with Dott. Anna Porcheddu
Chiara Vigo
“La seta di mare, il bisso.”
There is a very unusual museum in Sant’Antioco, a small island just off the south-west coast of Sardinia; the Museum of Byssus. It was opened by Chiara Vigo in 2005.
Chiara is a “master” of this ancient art of weaving known by many ancient populations and even mentioned in the Bible.
But what is byssus? It is a silky filament secreted by the “Pinna nobilis”, a very large bivalve mollusk, the largest in the Mediterranean in fact, as it can reach 1.5 metres in length. It can still be found in the south of Sardinia but, unfortunately, is now in danger of extinction.
It takes several hundred dives to collect a few hundred grams of “silk” that Chiara washes carefully and then spins into thread, a thread which has beautiful golden shades if you look at it in the sunshine.
Chiara Vigo is one of the last byssus weavers in the world. The art was passed down to her from her grandmother together with a sacred oath to never sell or commercialise the sea-silk in any way as it is a gift from the sea.
Chiara will share her amazing art with all of us and answer all our questions before joining us over a glass of wine and some treats.
Everybody is welcome.
Entrance is free