Domestic Rituals

From Abbruzo 

Lace making was popular throughout Italy. Young women made lace to demonstrate their domestic skills; grandmothers made lace while sitting in doorways and socializing in neighbourhood piazzas. The column appears to have a lace tablecloth draped over it. The double-tailed mermaid motif is popular in Italian culture. 

Lace tablecloths and trousseaux are about tradition and grand rituals and dressing up. But also they involve mentoring, passing skills down through the generations, evoking the continuity of a culture. 

The text at the bottom of the column is laced with double meanings. The cake at the top is a reference to the culinary culture of the community; notice that the adjacent artisan shop continues this tradition in Canada today. 

- Eric Darwin