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A Short Biographical account "Rosa Colavito in Petruzzelli" Seamstress as a young lady and assistant to her husband Vincenzo in his carpenter workshop, she founded the “Petruzzelli tailor” in Grumo Appula at the beginning of 1900. The family-owned business progressed with the advent of the second generation, composed of seven children (five girls and 2 boys). The father of the family, Vincenzo, a refined artisan that served the noble families of Grumo, thought he should realise an internal and external finishing or better, dressing, on the coffins he produced. This would richen and make precious both the coffin and the deceased during the funeral service. The task was entrusted to his daughters Anna, Chiara, Santa, Maria and Giuseppina (still living at 98 years!), whom sewed the following dressing, pictured here. The handmade linen dressings received great appreciation from the noble families of Grumo. They were somewhat relieved to have somebody who could make sure their deceased could seem gracious in the coffin. Infact, in that era, coffins were mainly lined with simple white sheets. It could be said that nowadays, that old traditions is conserved by many funeral parlours using simple fibre textiles.Today, our dressings are in linen and mixed linen fabric. Back then, the precious fabric induced father Vincenzo to recommend his daughters to use the exact quantities. Yet the women of the Petruzelli household, were quality oriented, making sure to give a less tragic vision to the loss of a loved one. The first “coffin dressings” produced by the Petruzzelli sisters were realized in 1920 making the funeral services luxurious. The coffin dressings produced today by our company are the same as the original design, realised with extreme care and dedication, just as Anna Petruzzelli would have wanted. The A.C.A.I. (Christian association for Italian artisans) awarded the Petruzzelli sisters in 1965 for the high quality that was achieved in their work. This gave great honour to their native town Grumo Appula. Even at just a young age they were immersed in the tailoring and carpentry art, and with time this has enriched and contributed to the various activities that the company today has encountered. The last being a supplier of funeral accessories, which gave the owners of today the possibility to reproduce the “coffin dressings”, that with time went out of use.
by Vito Errico (Journalist and Historian of Grumo Appula) Click here to view photo |
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