THE ROOM: this elegant reception room, altered in the early 1900s, was mainly used on the occasion of births, when friends and family would come to congratulate the family. According to popular beliefs of the time, the new mother was expected to remain in bed for forty days after giving birth to prevent post-partum complications.

TRADITIONS: THE TROUSSEAU: births were also an opportunity to show off a marvellous trousseau. In Sicily, the production of embroidery and precious handmade items for a daughter’s trousseau were of fundamental importance, both practically and symbolically. The trousseau consisted of material goods – mainly linens, fine fabrics, clothing, furniture and everyday items – prepared with great care and many years in advance. It symbolised the family’s concern for the daughter’s future security and dignity, as well as the social prestige of the household. The trousseau thus formed a significant part of the dowry, with binding value in marriage settlements. Preparing the trousseau involved teams of embroiderers and provided an opportunity to pass down specialist needlework skills, including sfilato siciliano, or Sicilian drawn-thread embroidery.

SICILIAN DRAWN-THREAD EMBROIDERY: sfilato siciliano is a highly prestigious embroidery style that originated in the Ragusa and Val di Noto areas, probably in the late fourteenth century, influenced by Moorish embroidery imported by the Arabs. It is an extremely difficult technique. First, threads are drawn out of a piece of cloth to create a fine “mesh” – hence the name sfilato, from sfilare, meaning to draw out or remove threads. Once this mesh has been intertwined, it can be used to create netting with a decorative design from a pattern, such as flowers, leaves, scrolls, rosettes, figures, animals, and other forms. This work is mainly carried out on pure linen. To guarantee the supply of this raw material, the Baron of Donnafugata built a spinning mill in Ragusa Ibla in 1850 to produce cotton, linen and hemp.

There are several variants of sfilato, traditionally classified by numbers indicating the historical period or style. In the ‘400’ style (1400s), the design is ‘reconstructed’ by filling the empty squares with thread. In the ‘500’ style (1500s), considered the noblest form, the design (flowers, leaves, scrolls) remains on the ‘full fabric, while the embroiderer draws out the surrounding threads to create the background mesh. In the ‘700’ style (1700s), similar to ‘400’, the grid is finished with a denser ladder stitch before the decorative design is inserted. In the ‘500 Inverso’, or Reverse Cinquecento, the embroidery is worked inside the drawn-thread motif, creating a contrasting effect with the classic ‘500’ style. We owe the rediscovery of Sicilian drawn-thread embroidery to Ester Manari, young woman from Piedmont who married the Ragusan Baron La Rocca di San Germano. This sensitive, cultured woman accidentally came across a piece of embroidered fabric in a trunk. Unable to identify the technique, she took it to Sister Maria Luna at the Convent of Santa Teresa. The two women were able to revive the art, and this embroidery became an essential part of noble trousseaux and sacred linens. Still today, sfilato siciliano is synonymous with exceptional craftsmanship and infinite patience: a single sheet or fine tablecloth can require months of entirely hand-worked labour.

AND CUSTOMS: the dress displayed here is a late-Victorian-style day dress in an intense shade of purple. This type of clothing was common between the late 1870s and the 1890s, a period when synthetic dyes such as mauveine (discovered in 1856) made these vivid purple tones extremely popular. This dress, worn by an expectant mother, is made of silk taffeta with a slightly crinkled texture. It is embellished with vertical stripes of black faille fabric on the front and a small capelet of pleated black tulle resting on the shoulders. The skirt is floor-length, with the typical bustle at the rear in the style of the late nineteenth century.