Traditional Ossola Valley costumes

There is also surviving evidence of the costumes worn by Domodossola farmers in the early 19th century: a dark green frock coat, a long light blue skirt with wide pleats, which ends with a red flounce at the bottom, typical fabric shoes and a handkerchief to be tied at the back of the skull.

Black and white photographs and postcards taken at the turn of the 20th century are important evidence of the Ossolan costumes of the time: notably, the Macugnaga costume depicted on an early-20th century postcard is the same costume that the women of Anzasca Valley wear for processions or important events.
One particularly interesting costume comes from Antronapiana, in Antrona Valley, and was used until 1930. Arcum or Awsti was the dialect name for the old dress, which was made from “mezzalana” (a hemp warp and wool weft), which was first fulled and then dyed, according to local tradition, bathing it in water that had previously been used to boil walnut husk.
An important part of the costume of Antronapiana is the “puncetto”, a fine needle lace that the women of this valley still use today to decorate shirts and part of household linen.

The link with traditional costumes began to fade during the 20th century, but today costumes, thanks to numerous folk groups in Ossola Valley, are once more being used and promoted: Ossolan costumes, which are different for every town and group, are often passed down from mothers and grandmothers, strongly contributing to the sense of historical continuity.
As scholar Rina Chiovenda Bensi rightly observes, “An Alpine community’s clothing is a mirror that evokes the boundaries, values and tendencies of the different groups that make up the community. Behind the framework of clothing, we can read the language of the community translated into shapes, colours and fabrics…”.