Valentina Cosciani

Scontrosa Grazia -Gracefully Aloof- Valentina Cosciani

I have always had a strong bond with my city - Trieste. Trieste is a strange city: a bit Italian, a bit Austrian and a bit Balkan; yet, strange as it may seem, unlike any of them. It is an indefinable puzzle: every corner of the city holds vestiges of that marvelous city - once part of the Habsburg Empire - as well as glimpses of the functional architecture of the 1930s. Trieste is also a city of many cultures and many religions; it was once the main port of a great Empire that embraced many ethnicities. This has taught the people of Trieste to be very hospitable, but also very defensive! Trieste is a city surrounded by sea, sky and karst rock; a city which remains in the mind and heart of anyone who sees the city for the first time. For me, Trieste is a constant source of inspiration and every walk through the city is sure to unveil new treasures. All of the patterns in this book have a touch of "Trieste" in them: perhaps a colourful motif inspired by the Art Nouveau architecture, or a geometric lace that brings to mind the windows of one of the many churches or temples, or perhaps the austere, yet elegant lines of a shawl inspired by the Neoclassic building façades. The inspirations are so many that a single bookcould not hold them all, so I am preparing a secondvolume to present new patterns born of my new and continuous impressions of Trieste.