Dec. 12 – A French team is making a film on her, and Hungary is preparing an exhibition that will open next spring; she’s been in the media worldwide, and scholars hired her as a consultant. Chiara Vigo is truly one of a kind: she’s the last woman to practice the ancient art of bisso. From Sardinia, born in 1955, Chiara Vigo dives in the depths of the Sant’Antioco (Carbonia-Iglesias) sea to retrieve the precious golden strands contained in fragile shells; she then desalinates, cards and spins the material to obtain a thread that looks a lot like gold and silk. Finally, she weaves it all to create precious fabrics and embroidery. The fine linen is a fiber produced by the largest bivalve shell of the Mediterranean Sea, the Pinna Nobilis, to anchor itself to the seabed. The Sardinian embroiderer’s is now a book titled “Chiara Vigo, l’ultimo Maestro di bisso,” written by journalist Susanna Lavazza and published by Carlo Delfino. The book was recently presented at the University of Siena, which hosted Chiara Vigo in recent months. The book was translated into English by Jeff Grosch and illustrated by 150 images. Chiara Vigo received many awards, not least that of Commander of the Italian Republic, for her unique art, and the important oral and gestural heritage preservation effort that she carries out daily. Vigo also participated in a textile expertise team to assess the Monappello Image, the relic similar to the Shroud of Turin. Her works with linen and fine linen are preserved in several museums and institutions. According to the tradition, you can neither buy or sell them, you may just give and receive tehm. (PO / Gil)
