A project by Margherita Tofanelli in collaboration with the Cathedral Museum and Archaeological Complex of Lucca
Through an investigation of ornamental patterns as traces of culture and craftsmanship, this project revisits the history of Lucca’s silk manufacturing tradition, highlighting its continuity through time. From the motifs carved into the Cathedral façade to the textiles preserved in the Museum’s collections, Giardini tessuti (woven garden) becomes a symbolic space where architecture, textile heritage, and visual design converge, generating new readings between memory and the present. Within this dialogue between heritage and contemporaneity, Margherita Tofanelli’s intervention takes shape as a new creative production that reinterprets the visual languages of the past in contemporary forms.
The exhibition will remain open until 30 April 2027 during the opening hours of the Cathedral Museum and Archaeological Complex of Lucca.
Margherita Tofanelli (1997) is a graphic designer and illustrator whose research focuses on the medieval silk manufacturing tradition of Lucca, culminating in the project Giardini tessuti. Her work investigates historical patterns through the observation of botanical, ornamental, and structural elements found in textiles, reinterpreting them through the language of contemporary graphic design. Her practice sits at the intersection of historical research, visual design, and the transmission of knowledge.
WORKSHOPS
Family Workshops
Pattern Design & Textile Decoration
26 September 2026
11:30 AM–1:00 PM and 3:00 PM–4:30 PM
A creative workshop dedicated to discovering pattern design, inspired by the decorative motifs of medieval gardens depicted in ancient Lucchese silk textiles.
Starting from recurring symbols found in the textile tradition—plants, flowers, animals, and ornamental interlacings—participants will design their own decorative motif, exploring the essential stages of pattern creation. After an initial sketching phase on paper, the design will be transferred directly onto a fabric tote bag.
At the end of the workshop, each participant will take home a unique bag, entirely conceived and decorated by hand.
Free admission with reservation: didatticaterzomillennio@gmail.com and +39 342 1466451
Workshops for Primary Schools – Starting November 2026
From Module to Notebook: Creating Your Own Pattern
Woven Gardens becomes an opportunity for primary school pupils to learn how to read a decorative motif: identifying its module, understanding its structure, and observing how it repeats across a surface.
During the visit, children also explore the animal and plant figures represented in historical textiles, discovering stories of encounters, exchange, and cultural cross-fertilisation. Some of these images reveal how species originating in the East reached Europe through the circulation of textiles from distant lands.
The exhibition also highlights a fundamental principle of pattern design: its aesthetics do not arise from arbitrary choices, but from the rules and constraints of weaving techniques, which throughout history have shaped the forms, rhythms, and compositions of decorative motifs.
Building on this discovery, participants experiment first-hand with the logic of pattern-making by designing and creating their own personal decorative motif.
For information: didatticaterzomillennio@gmail.com and +39 342 1466451
Workshops for Lower and Upper Secondary Schools – Starting November 2026
From Fragment to Pattern: Reinterpreting the Archive
This workshop offers a research and design-based learning experience rooted in archival materials: fragments of medieval Lucchese textiles become the starting point for a process of observation, analysis, and reinterpretation.
Students are invited to examine a historical image, identify a significant element, reinterpret it graphically, and reorganise it within a modular structure, ultimately creating an original pattern of their own.
The activity retraces the process through which a historical decorative motif is studied, broken down into its constituent elements, and translated into a contemporary visual language. It is an experience that combines art history and design, demonstrating how historical heritage can become an active resource for creativity and contemporary design practice.
For information: didatticaterzomillennio@gmail.com and +39 342 1466451