ISTOS is the pilot project of the “Scuola di Calascio per il perfezionamento della tessitura, lane e fibre vegetali autoctone”, born as part of the cultural, social and economic regeneration project of the town of Calascio, “Rocca Calascio Luce d'Abruzzo”, financed with PNRR M1C3 MISURA 2 funds “RIGENERAZIONE DI PICCOLI SITI CULTURALI, PATRIMONIO CULTURALE, RELIGIOSO E RURALE” - INVESTIMENTO 2.1. “ATTRATTIVITÀ DEI BORGHI STORICI” CUP I24H22000520001.

The ISTÓS project - School of Calascio for Advanced Weaving, Wools and Native Plant Fibers aims to create a productive cultural school that promotes the processing of wool from native sheep breeds as a local, sustainable and valuable material, contributing to the regeneration and economic and social development of the Abruzzo region.

The training is aimed at creatives, artisans, designers, artists, curators, restorers, costume designers, set designers, teachers and researchers, with the aim of developing an advanced training centre that promotes and disseminates sustainable practices in production processes and the recognition and protection of local resources. 

Promoted by FONDAZIONE ARTE DELLA SETA LISIO [www.fondazionelisio.org] together with local organisations such as CHIU TESSITURA [www.instagram.com/chiu_tessitura] and LAMANTERA [www.lamantera.com], the IUNO contemporary arts research centre [https://iunoiuno.it] and the SOLIDO knitwear studio [www.instagram.com/sldknit], the school offers an educational programme consisting of specialised courses, artist residencies and experiential workshops.

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12-17 May 2025 | Natural Dyeing, Valentina Ferrarini

16-21 February 2026 | Mountain Knitwear: Contemporary Designs with Abruzzo Wools and Vintage Machines, Anne Germe

04-09 May 2026 | Color, Composition, Natural Resist Dyeing, Diamantina Palacios

11-23 May 2026 | Technologies for Circular Fashion, Benedetta Morucci

15-20 June 2026 | Folk Weaving Techniques, Eva Basile

22-27 June 2026 | Folk Weaving Reinterpreted in an Artistic-Contemporary Key, 

08-13 June 2026 | The Value of Heritage Rural Garments: Contemporary Tailoring with Handwoven Fabrics, Antony Knight

08-13 June 2026 | Historical Garment 1890-1895: Analysis and Construction, Concita Vadalà

24 May 2025 | Il giorno della taranta: Upcycling Abruzzo Blankets, Fade Out Label

25 May 2025 | Pescatori di olive: Upcycling Olive Harvest Nets, Fade Out Label

14-15 March 2026 | Denim reassembled, Fade Out Label

19 April 2026 | Collective Embroidery, Sara Basta

10 May 2026 | Creating a Shawl with Nuno Felting, Diamantina Palacios

24 May 2026 | The Art of Traditional Cushions, azienda Semmiflex

30-31 May 2026 | Art Screenprinting, Daniel Tummolillo

14 June 2026 | Historical Garment Restoration, Concita Vadalà 

6 July 2026 | Weaving for Children, Adele Olivieri

11 July 2026 | Decorative Felting: Creative Repurposing of Old Wool Clothes & Textiles, Benedetta Morucci 

June 27, 2026 | Meeting with Rossana La Verde’s, Textile Artist, Calascio

June 20, 2026 | Traditional Weaving, Valeria Belli, Calascio

June 6, 2026 | Strong and Gentle: Stories of the Protagonists of Abruzzo Fashion, Virginia Spadaccini, Roccamontepiano

May 16 and 23, 2026 | Tools and Experiences for Young Entrepreneurs, Calascio

Ciclo di 3 Conferenze MEMORIA TESSILE NELL’APPENNINO ABRUZZESE, Pescara

June 15-27, 2026 | Creation of a textile artwork 

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IUNO is pleased to announce Rossana La Verde’s (Caltanissetta, 1997) residency at ISTÓS – School of Calascio for Advanced Training in Weaving, Wool and Native Plant Fibres.

The residency takes place within a research context dedicated to textile practices and situated forms of knowledge rooted in the Abruzzo region, and will be accompanied by public events and opportunities for exchange with artists, artisans and professionals working in the field of textile arts.
For the occasion, artist and fashion designer Rossana La Verde will bring to Rocca Calascio her project "Si può sempre riprovare" (One Can Always Try Again), in which inhabitable sculptural forms, whose boundaries are constantly redefined, encounter the body, altering the ways it moves through and occupies space. Described by the artist as “an exercise that continually pushes itself elsewhere”, the works take shape as volumes that are either solid or ready to collapse at the slightest movement; surfaces that generate friction or support overlap and give rise to unprecedented bodily configurations, new balances, different spatial footprints and alternative thresholds of contact with the surrounding environment.
This exploration of the relationship between the body and textile material will continue throughout the residency, from 17 to 27 June, through an engagement with new materials, tools and techniques drawn from the local textile tradition. The exchange between Rossana La Verde’s ongoing research and the work of the School, its teachers and the students attending during this period will unfold as an open and reciprocal dialogue, bringing together materials, forms of knowledge and complementary visions.

On 27 June, Si può sempre riprovare (One Can Always Try Again) will be presented to the public in the presence of the artist.
 
Rossana La Verde (born in Caltanissetta in 1997) earned a diploma in Sculpture from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan and later completed a Master’s degree in Fashion and Visual Arts at the Iuav University of Venice, where she explored the intersection between artistic practices and the languages of fashion.
Her research develops through an imagery that investigates the emotional dimension tied to memory, giving shape to a poetic universe in which childhood elements and pain coexist. Within this context, the act of imaginative play becomes central as a tool for reworking and reconstructing what has been lost.
In 2022 she won the ARTbite x Cramum award and subsequently took part in several group exhibitions, including one with Paratissima. She also developed a performative line of research, presented at Traffic Gallery in Bergamo. At the same time, she works as a costume designer, collaborating with RAI and designing costumes for theatrical productions by Lucia Di Pietro at Officine Caos, Fuori Margine, Centrale Fies, and Fabbrica del Vapore. Last December she collaborated with Wissal Houbabi and IUNO at the MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome. She recently presented a solo exhibition at Gallery Room in Milan.

Elena Baistrocchi, Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio, Firenze

Valeria Befani, Chiu Tessitura, Calascio (AQ)

Benedetta Morucci, Lamantera, Anversa degli Abruzzi (AQ)

Cecilia Canziani e Ilaria Gianni, Iuno, Roma

Matteo Barra Gardiner, Solido, Tivoli (RM)

Katia Maratea, Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio
Benedetta Morucci, Lamantera