When the creation of fabrics is based on know-how that has its roots in the traditions of a local area, the result goes beyond passing trends and can be described as “timeless”. That may be anything from textured decorative effects and floral patterns to sustainable output for the circular economy, from abstract designs to ethnic and animal themes, from brightly coloured folk styles to shabby chic. It’s a journey that stretches all the way from Sicily up through Tuscany to the Romagna region in the north-east.

There are those, like Colori del Sole, who advocate “slow production”, proudly producing craft items Made in Sicily that encapsulate the kind of tradition, passion and colour that only products made lovingly by hand using ancient techniques can convey. An all-artisanal production process that uses high-quality Italian yarns and fabrics, their colours applied manually to give them that unique appearance based on Mediterranean forms and colours. A product that helps to promote the image of the local area, because tradition brings a beauty that is worth protecting and preserving.

Great traditions are also to be found in Tuscany, where for example the Busatti family has been weaving since 1842 in an ancient building in Anghiari, using processes that were originally powered by steam. Now in its eighth generation, it is a member of the Union of Italian Historical Enterprises (UISI), an association that was formed in Florence to bring together examples of well-established Italian excellence and tradition. Always on the lookout for contemporary innovations, new designs, colours and forms, the Busatti brand caters to all furnishing and fabric requirements. Production, in Umbria and Tuscany, is based on natural fibres and patterns inspired by Renaissance and peasant traditions in a whole range of different colours.

Still in the heart of Tuscany, there are also those, like Blanc MariClò, who have turned their brand into a style product exported all over the world. A personal and clearly recognisable style that has its origins in the memories of a Tuscan childhood that then grew and evolved “with the inspirations of a life in which everything revolves around work. Any trip or holiday, any book or art exhibition can be the starting point for a new collection,” as in the case of the Toile de Jouy collection, the symbol of “a timeless style, where the elegance and refinement of history become the main characters of the interior scenes.”

Tuscany’s cultural heritage is also very prominent at Tessitura Toscana Telerie, where “art, crafts and poetry have been closely intertwined for centuries” and where linens and cottons of the highest quality are chosen to produce ever more sophisticated effects that are sensitive to new ideas. Artisanal textiles and traditions cannot ignore today’s concerns regarding climate and the need for environmental protection. Hence the use of eco-friendly fibres, organic fabrics and bio-degradable packaging, as well as innovation in manufacturing processes and materials. This “means making choices, picking up on and at the same time adapting to the sensibilities of a new generation of consumers that is demanding a more careful and far-sighted management of resources.”

Meanwhile, Stamperia Bertozzi, a family-run business dating back to 1920, takes us to Romagna, a land of ancient printing techniques. With its archive of no fewer than 500 wooden printing blocks, it is capable of creating that same number of decorative motifs for combination with a wide range of colours to create an unlimited variety of patterns. To this day, tablecloths, sheets and towels are hand-printed using the same Renaissance methods. The fabrics are given an exclusive eco-friendly treatment and each article is certified.

Family traditions are also handed down at Stamperia F.lli Pascucci, in Gambettola, in the province of Forlì-Cesena: “Our printing techniques haven’t changed over seven generations: the wooden blocks, impregnated with dye, are placed onto the material and tapped with a mallet. In this way, tablecloths and curtains are gradually decorated with ornamental motifs and floral patterns from the Romagna region’s rich cultural heritage.” Encounters with different artists from the year 2000 onwards enriched our stock of designs and since then there has been “a flutter of butterflies in the workshop, and our printing has been taken to a whole new artistic level, with fabrics now also hand-painted!”

The Antica Stamperia Carpegna printing concern in the province of Pesaro-Urbino still uses traditional rust-printing techniques, a unique handicraft process that has been handed down for generations, as the ancient prints remind us: pearwood or walnut blocks are hand carved, dipped into dye, placed on the fabric and struck with a heavy mallet. “Traditional Romagna-region printing,” they explain, “is characterised by classic motifs such as cockfighting, cornucopia, bunches of grapes and a whole array of different floral patterns.”

Elena Balsamini’s Il Guado workshop in the historic centre of Forlì, also works using traditional rust-printing techniques. A poetic corner where time seems to have stood still, a place in which to stop and lose yourself among all the decorative motifs… The artistic production of Stamperia Casadei and the Stamperia Miserocchi is based on the same tradition. These concerns, together with Bertozzi, F.lli Pascucci, Il Guado and Carpegna, have joined forces to create the Romagna Fabric Printers Association, whose aim is to protect the historical and cultural heritage of hand-printing on cloth (an activity that continues to this day), and to guarantee that the finished products are made in a way that respects those methods, thereby ensuring that the centuries-old charm of this ancient craft is kept alive.

The Antica Stamperia Artigiana Marchi has also stayed true to tradition: it keeps an ancient mangle in its workshop. Built in 1633 as a primitive machine that powerfully stretched, pressed and gave lustre to cloth as well as making it more compact, it was still used up to the last century. “Cloth is a living part of our workshop. Before the advent of the textile industry, it was woven by hand on artisanal looms. A whole room was set aside in people’s homes where the womenfolk would busy themselves with this invaluable activity.”