Consulenze Tedeschini and Hallowasabi
The collaboration with Dr. Isabella Tedeschini of Consulenze Tedeschini began with the creation of L’OFFICINA in 2021. When approached about the legal and administrative aspects of the association’s establishment, Isabella immediately embraced the project and became a founding member and secretary. A native of these lands, she has been able to bridge our vision with the needs and opportunities of the local area from the very beginning, fully sharing L’OFFICINA’s mission, which, supported by the gift economy, fosters creativity that helps us imagine a humane way of living together.
With Giorgia Capoccia of hallowasabi, a bond of close collaboration and affection was born thanks to a shared love of art as a tool for sharing and bringing well-being. Their passion for textiles and the powerful metaphors they embody have only cemented a volunteer collaboration based on respect and a shared vision. Giorgia’s ability to formulate and communicate precisely and effectively gives L’OFFICINA its strength, and her encyclopedic knowledge of the cultural field nourishes it to the point of making her presence a lifeblood.
Together we have worked so far on:
THE TABLECLOTH
Many of us, near and far, have participated in THE TABLECLOTH” project.
We began by distributing squares of fabric in March 2024, inviting those who wished to use them to answer a question: “What do you bring to the table besides food?” We didn’t imagine then the enthusiasm this relational artwork would spark.
After writing to each other, meeting monthly, discussing, stimulating, and questioning people who were committed to providing their answers, we collected 34 works and sewed them together. The result was a 34-meter tablecloth made of desires, memories, hopes, color, and play.
And with a long table around this tablecloth of ours, we held a festive lunch, joyfully occupying, together with old and new friends, the viewpoint of that jewel of a village that is Monteleone d’Orvieto.
And since not everyone had been able to see our work, we organized a show,
“THE TABLECLOTH EXHIBITED” at L’OFFICINA, which included the installation of the work, along with photographs by Marco Mandini printed on the same fabric as the tablecloth, a video by Martina Biancarini, and a notebook—the exhibition catalog— designed by Rashmi Gupta of RA/GU Studio and hand-bound by Giuliano Foca of Opera Lènta.
For the exhibition opening, which began on December 14th, Marion Dieterle and Valentina Lupi delighted us with the improvisational dance performance “THE RELATIONSHIP,” set to music by Michele Marchesani.
To conclude, on January 5th, we unraveled the 34 works together to return them to their creators.
We then toasted an end, knowing that together we will soon open the doors to a new beginning.
THE TOVAGLIA was a relational art project that left us with a sense of hope for the future. Thirty-four people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and inclinations worked for almost a year to create a work that allowed us to forge deep relationships and joyful memories, another way of being together.
LA TOVAGLIA (the tablecloth) was a relational art project promoted and implemented by our association under the artistic direction of Rosenda Arcioni Meer, with the invaluable collaboration of Giorgia Capoccia, creator of the textile studio hallowasabi in Città della Pieve, and Isabella Tedeschini of Consulenze Tedeschini, a daughter of these lands and an administration and management professional for companies, public bodies, and the Third Sector.
This endeavour was part of the “Weaving – Relationships, Fabrics, Humanity” project, created with the support of the Cassa di Risarmio Foundation and the patronage of the Municipality of Monteleone D’Orvieto.
“UN PAESE CI VUOLE”
a day of reflection and celebration on living outside the city centers
Cesare Pavese said: “We need a village, even if it were just for the pleasure of leaving. A village means you are not alone, knowing that in the people, in the plants, in the land, there’s something of yours, that remains waiting for you when you’re not there.”
And today, what does it mean to grow up in a village? To live in a village? To choose to live in a village? A small village perched on a hill, immersed in silence, is it a dormitory or a hotbed of possibilities?
We have welcomed journalists, writers, academics, and cultural agitators to reflect together and imagine how to reenchant our world without giving in to the temptation of cosmic pessimism or the sirens of mere tourism on July 19, 2025.
After a welcome from the Mayor of Monteleone D’Orvieto, Paolo Garofani, the speakers were:
Filippo Barbera, professor of Economic and Labor Sociology at the University of Turin and a fellow at the Collegio Carlo Alberto. Barbera is the author of “The Empty Squares” (Laterza, 2024) and “Against the Villages, the Beautiful Country That Forgets the Towns” (Donzelli 2022).
Alessandro Calvi, an Italian journalist who writes for L’Internazionale.
Antonio Cipriani and Valentina Montisci, creators of Valdò, a cultural outpost in Val d’Orcia.
Barbara Colombo, President of the Artemide association and head of the “Il Cerquosino” laboratory house, an example of the transformation of an abandoned farmhouse into a place of care, education, and transformation on Mount Peglia, who invited us to find allies and fall in love with our projects.
Andrea Fantino, a cultural anthropologist and filmmaker, showed us excerpts from his latest documentary, “Abitare un Paese,” an important document on the experience of migration.
Sarah Gainsforth, a freelance writer and independent researcher who spoke to us about urban transformation, social inequality, gentrification, and tourism.
Luca Lo Bianco, scientific director of the Italian Union of Mountain Municipalities, coordinator and director of all research, development, and assistance activities for local authorities, ecosystem services monitoring projects, and activities aimed at building sustainable communities in mountain areas, shared his valuable experience, encouraging us to believe in the possibility of creating virtuous experiences that can then be transferred to the valleys.
Barbra Pasquini, a social designer, shared the experience of Peglia Living Circles srls, a company dedicated to environmental care and education.
Ayan Meer, a geographer and professor at Queen Mary University of London, briskly monitored the debate, encouraging everyone to speak less so that everyone could speak.
Members of the audience intervened as well, including two of the five Mayors of the Upper Orvieto towns present. They emphasized the need for participation and the urgent housing problem that have already emerged and must be addressed with original solutions if we are to combat depopulation, which is certainly not a fatality.
Martina Biancarini’s “Alleronesi” exhibition, which portrayed nearly all the inhabitants of her town, received considerable attention and was praised by all as an example of active creativity that weaves community. The cost of Martina’s work was borne indeed by community, who raised the necessary funds during a dinner in the village.
Finally, we enjoyed a celebration in the evening in Monteleone D’Orvieto, in Piazza Bilancini with La Banda del Comitato composed of Alice Rohrwacher, a talented director on accordion and vocals; Martina Sciucchino, vocals, ukulele, and percussion; Francesco Ceccio Rosati, guitar and vocals; Leonardo Gazzurra on trombone; Pierluigi Giggi Barba Cinnirella on drums; and Lorenzo Calvanelli on bass. They delighted us with their folk and manouche sounds, bringing life to the square, where we all gathered to dance, eat, and chat joyfully, thus nourishing hope.
