Lini e antiche tele
The history of Monte di Procida is also told through the ancient art of yarn and linen, already practiced in the island of Procida. In the area of Montegrillo, soon, the first inhabitants of Monte di Procida began a real cultivation of the flax plant as oral evidence tells us. The processing of these filaments required several steps, which reached the skein that was placed on the lanyard that unraveled it. From the skein, then, they got the ball of linen that was used to make the trousseau, thanks to the skilled hands of some local weavers.
Sheets, pillowcases, sleepers, tablecloths and towels embellished with embroidery or carving, were made and donated to future brides. Not to forget are the linen nightdresses, long up to the calf, low-cut and sometimes short-sleeved. They were almost always hand-embroidered. The woman from Monte di Procida wore the “matinee”, a shirt with really soft lines, strictly of muslin or cotton, with long sleeves, with wide neckline, closed on the front with buttons, sometimes embellished with embroidery, embroidery and lace. The underpants, also made of muslin and cotton fabric, long up to the knee, simply tightened at the waist by ribbons and straps, of simple and wide line, constituted the underwear of the woman of Monte. The matinee was worn in the evening after being freed from everyday clothes.
