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The entire Twentieth century has been characterized by a constant need to experiment. The numerous artistic movements born at the beginning of the century had in common a similarly constant desire for renewal and an aspiration to cut off the ties of the past and of the traditions.
The enterprise of the Scuola di Burano, founded on March, 14th, 1872 by Countess Andriana Zon Marcello, under the patronage of Queen Margherita, went into a completely different direction, successfully trying to relaunch the ancient and prestigious tradition of the needle laces of the past. In 1878, fifty-five objects are presented at the Universal Exhibition of Paris; the school creates the fans for queen Wilhelmina of Holland, the wedding veil for Elena of Montenegro and Edda Ciano. Among the clients of the school there had been Pious XI and Evita Peron (D.Davanzo Poli, Il Merletto Veneziano, Milan, 1998). The school also restored and re-made ancient laces and soon BURANO laces will become the symbols of exceptional quality and elegance all over Europe. The school was capable to face the economic crisis determined by the First World War, but its activity began to decline around 1940.
An official visit of queen Margherita to the school took place around 1910 – in the difficult period of the relaunching of the school, both by a cultural and a productive point of view. The queen is accompanied by the manageress of the school in the exhibition hall where two of the most skilled lace makers offer an essay of their art.
The atmosphere is very luminous, with two tables habillée, a large exhibition board and a group of five life-size dummies wearing the most typical laces made by the school. The manageress is showing Margherita a precious fan, dated to the Eighteenth century, that has been successfully restored by the school. The queen herself is wearing a magnificent tie made with Burano lace dated around 1750.
At the end of the Nineteenth century women were not yet allowed to study at universities or fine arts institutes; there were only two istituti magistrali in Rome and Florence. The highest feminine ambition was to become an elementary teacher. Queen Margherita became honorary president of the first scuola professionale femminile founded in Rome and of the Società per l'educazione della donna and she supported the schools of embroidery, sewing, cooking and domestic economy. (R. Bracalini, La regina Margherita, Milan, 1983, p.107). On January, 9th, 1878 Umberto and Margherita became king and queen of Italy. In the same year, in Milan, a magazine is born, titled Margherita in honour of the queen. Few years later she will say to her daughter-in-law, Elena: “Nothing is too expensive or too beautiful for the queen of Italy”. Her majesty preferred light shades for evening dresses and she will never forget to wear her beloved pearls, les perles de la Reine. A string of pearls is the usual gift of the king every year for Christmas; gossipers used to say that Umberto donated Margherita a pearl necklace for every affair he ever had. (Centro Studi e Ricerche Arnaldo Caprai, Da Elisabetta I a Margherita di Savoia - l'Arte nelle Riedizioni - Foligno, 1997, p.22). On April, 22th, 1868, in the ballroom of the Royal Palace was celebrated the civil wedding between Margherita and prince Umberto. Once the ceremony was over, the bride and groom went over to the balcony to salute the crowd that was gathered in front of the palace; afterward, in St. John’s Cathedral, the archbishop of Turin with the bishop of Milan and other priests celebrated the nuptial blessing. The future queen of Italy worn a heavy white silk dress completed by a long mantle embroidered with silver threads and decorated by bunches of daisies, orange blossoms and bellflowers, braided with Savoy knots. (M.Gabriella di Savoia, S. Papi, Gioielli di Casa Savoia, Milan, 2003, pp.16-18). In the first years of its life, the school of Burano barely recuperated the expense for the salaries of its students-workers because they were still rather inexperienced and their retribution actually exceeded the yield of their laces. Nevertheless, in few years, thanks to the “pitiless strictness” of the teachers that destroyed less-than-perfect works, Burano laces achieved an amazing degree of perfection, to the point that the school was invited to participate with fifty-five laces to the Universal Exhibition of Paris. (D. Davanzo Poli, Il merletto Veneziano, Novara, 1998, p.116). The laces made in Burano soon travelled outside Venice, entering in the most important and fashionable ateliers of the time, such as the Parisian ateliers of Worth and Paquin, in national museums, in the imperial courts, in aristocratic palaces or, more simply, in the homes of every fashionable lady. Precious wedding veils were donated by queen Margherita on the occasion of the weddings of princess Letizia and of duchess Isabella. A magnificent wedding veil made in Burano was worn by queen Elena too, and she also received by some Venetian ladies a sumptuous parasol made in “punto in aere”. (R. Strinati, I Merletti ad Ago e la “Scuola di Burano”, Rome, 1926, pp.85-86).
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