The Book

I Promessi Sposi
The Betrothed

I Promessi sposi, (The Betrothed), is one a classic of Italian literature. Written by Alessandro Manzoni, between 1827 and 1842 (in the years that anticipate the Italian unification).
The story takes place in Northern Italy, around 1630, under the Spanish rule.
It addresses various themes, from the illusory nature of political power to the inherent injustice of any legal system; from the cowardly, hypocritical nature of one prelate and the heroic sainthood of other priests, to the unwavering strength of love (the relationship between Renzo and Lucia, and their struggle to marry).
Particular notice for the description of the plague that struck Milan around 1630, and put everyone’s life on hold, similar to what is happening now in our modern world.
It is a guide to understanding Italian history, culture, and the internal forces that move our society: religion, foreign dominations, the heritage of our long feudal period and the strong opposition to liberal politics. The relations between power and oppressed classes were an important issue in the Italian unification. Manzoni makes a great effort to make this book political, and to convey his political opinions, into a popular story to be read by the millions, and have been successful in these past two centuries.

(picture on the left, a drawing by Francesco Gonin from the first edition, published in 1840)

The Character

Lucia Mondella

Lucia is a young common woman both in manner and appearance, and is described in the end of the second chapter of the novel, she is at her fullest splendor as she is ready for her wedding. Manzoni describes her with a “warrior’s peasant modesty” (modestia un po' guerriera delle contadine) with dark hair wrapped in multiple circles of braids behind the head, a bodice embroidered in flowers, a necklace of garnets alternating with gold filigree buttons, and silver pins that, passing through the braids are "almost like the rays of a halo". This ornament leads to a reading that clarifies the very name of Lucia, "dispenser of light".
The character of Lucia is an example par excellence of goodness and virtue, almost to a fault. She is a peasant girl of the milanese contryside with little experience of the world, but with an innate grace and sensitivity. Sometimes seen as passive and faint, described as an ideal so perfect as to be disappointed when seen. She is an object of desire not necessarily for her looks. Her devotion, her faith, her innocence, leads others to action, both negatively as positively. Her faith is precisely what makes Lucia exceptional:, apparently passive and defenseless, manages to unleash great strength when her moral principles are trampled on and acts for the good by using the weapons of prayer and faith. Victim of all kinds of misfortunes - from kidnapping to the plague - the woman never lose faith, that completely positive light.
Lucia Mondella, in short, is not a bigoted and submissive character but she is the one who gives a moral finish to the entire novel, setting the rules to what the ideal Italian woman should aspire to be in the vigil of unification of 19th century Italy.

(picture on the right, a painting by Eliseo Sala, of Lucia looking out of the window 1843)

The Costume

a Bodice Embroidered with flowers

"I adored competing for this contest. My theme choice, and process is one of the things I am most proud of."
With the design process I started by narrowing down what I wanted to create: A historical boned bodice, and to be able to try new and diverse methods of construction.
Second step was to find a theme powerful enough in literature to help me choose. In the months of hard lockdown, I thought that plagues have been used as literary means throughout history.
Third step: To connect it to my story. My heritage. Italy. I wanted to create something that would honor my country, and Italian Literature.
At this point I had narrowed it down to two choices: (1) The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio (1350) - a Series of stories told by Florentine youngsters that isolated themselves in a country house during the plague in Florence. (2) The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni (1840).
Narrowing it down between these two, there are practically no accounts of bodies or stays for 1348, and the themes behind the Betrothed were much stronger than the other one. A spark was lit, and it stuck.

I had a huge idea. It was so big and ambitious. I had so many things I wanted to make, and my take on it, and it would have this, and that, and well. Kind of setting myself up to miserably fail. I wanted it to be 17th century accurate but seen through the eyes of the 19th century. So my plan was to make a 19th century corset, with underpinnings, so I could have the fashionable silhouette of that era, but then I would have a pleated skirt, with a bumroll and a boned bodice with skirts.
I also wanted to make a 17th century bodice that was true to the 1830, but I wanted it to be fully boned, made with only hand stitching, and with boned skirts, and separate from the gown. Oh and soooo many accessories.
I started to research, Italian dresses from the 1600. I went down a very steep and dangerous rabbit hole. The main reference was the book “Storia del costume in Italia” by Rosita Levi Pisetzky (vol.3) the second part of the book is all about the 1600s. It went in depth on fashions and their evolution along with influences from different countries, laws, documents on merchant exchanges, contemporary literature on clothing, and of course detailed analysis of paintings.
I learned new words on how things were called in Italian, and so much inspiration that I was overwhelmed. I then started to begin to think on what I wanted it to look like, rather than have something perfectly historically accurate. I tried to think of balancing between the description in the book, the fabrics I wanted to use, historical time period, and the aura around the timeless character.

While I was choosing what to do, and under severe lockdown, I started making accessories, not having fabric on hand to be able to start.
When things did start to open up again, I got a hold on my fabric stash, and I could start making mockups!
I chose to modify a 1660 pattern. I looked at a few of them before choosing what I wanted to go for. The one that won me over was the 1657-1660 bodice in Corsets and Crinolines - Norah Waugh, (pg. 36) because I wanted a front closure.
At this point I was figuring out petticoats, and cartridge pleating, and didn’t have a clear idea of what was going to become.
I then participated in a Foundations revealed workshop on How to start and complete a successful project. I learned very valuable tools to help me with the project. To break the project down in Essentials (Have to have), want to have, and nice to have. (THANK YOU LOWANA)
From that point on, everything went sooo much easier. Thanks to putting things in lists, I was able to skim down my ambitious project, and it was also easier to give up on parts when I was feeling overwhelmed for biting off more than I could chew.
It has been a journey. Researching, studying, choosing to move away from accuracy towards an idealistic view of the character, procrastinating, doing one tiny bit at a time, and then finding the strength to carry it forward past the finishing line.

Manzoni non l’aveva vista, la peste,
ma aveva studiato documenti su documenti.
E allora descrive la follia, la psicosi,
le teorie assurde sulla sua origine, sui rimedi.
Descrive la scena di uno straniero (un “turista”)
a Milano che tocca un muro del duomo e viene linciato
dalla folla perché accusato di spargere il morbo.
Ma c’è una cosa che Manzoni descrive bene,
soprattutto, e che riprende da Boccaccio:
il momento di prova, di discrimine, tra umanità e
inumanità. Boccaccio sì che l’aveva vista,
la peste. Aveva visto amici, persone amate,
parenti, anche suo padre morire.

E Boccaccio ci spiega che l’effetto più
terribile della peste era la distruzione del
vivere civile. Perché il vicino iniziava a
odiare il vicino, il fratello iniziava a odiare
il fratello, e persino i figli abbandonavano
i genitori. La peste metteva gli uomini l’uno
contro l’altro. Lui rispondeva col Decameron,
il più grande inno alla vita e alla buona civiltà.
Manzoni rispondeva con la fede e la cultura,
che non evitano i guai ma, diceva,
insegnavano come affrontarli.

In generale, entrambi rispondevano in modo
simile: invitando a essere uomini,
a restare umani, quando il mondo impazzisce.

Manzoni had not seen the plague,
but he had studied documents after documents (on it).
And then he describes the madness, the psychosis,
the absurd theories about its origin, about remedies.
He describes the scene of a foreigner (a "tourist")
in Milan who touches a wall of the cathedral and is lynched
from the crowd because accused of spreading the disease.
But there is one thing that Manzoni describes well,
above all, which he takes from Boccaccio:
the moment of trial, of discrimination, between humanity and
inhumanity. Boccaccio, yes, he had seen it,
the plague. He had seen friends, loved ones,
relatives, even his father, die.

And Boccaccio explains that the most terrible effect
of the plague was the destruction of
civil living. Because the neighbor began to
hate the neighbor, the brother began to hate
the brother, and even children abandoning
their parents. The plague put men one
against the other. He answered with the Decameron,
the greatest hymn to life and good civilization.
Manzoni replied with faith and culture,
who do not avoid trouble but, he said,
teaches how to deal with it.

In general, they both responded so
similar: inviting to be human,
to stay human when the world goes mad.