Author :
ThE Rose Historical Clothing - Erika Tamburini

Elegant, youthful, luxurious, and bold—the giornea is a captivating piece that perfectly embodies 15th-century Italian fashion. Originally designed as a military men’s garment, it soon evolved into an essential item in everyday fashion, eventually including a feminine version.

The giornea is distinguished by its open sides, which reveal the gamurra or cotta underneath. This unique feature made the giornea highly desirable among women of the time. In fact, the demand became so great that sumptuary laws in certain cities restricted ownership to a single piece per woman and regulated the length of the train, as well as the use of luxurious fabrics such as gold and silver brocade, or both high and low velvet. However, these laws were frequently circumvented by paying fines, allowing women to wear their giornee crafted from the finest damasks, brocades, silks, or even more modest fabrics like wool or fustian. These garments were often adorned with pearls, fringes, pleats, cutouts, and latticework.

The choice of the giornea for this event came from a close collaboration with Famaleonis, the event organizers. We immediately recognized that the giornea would be the perfect garment, as it beautifully represents the style of 15th-century Italy and can be worn by every lady attending the event, thanks to its flattering shape and practical side openings. For the materials, silk was chosen in collaboration with the organizers—specifically, a white silk taffeta, lined with silk in a striking Persian blue.

This color combination can also be found in artworks such as "Saint Lucy" 1 at the Diocesan Museum of Camerino, and “The Legend of the True Cross.”2We also drew inspiration for the garment’s design from these pieces, which are echoed in several 15th-century depictions, including the famous “Cassone Adimari”3. The color choices, however, were not based solely on visual sources. They also reflect the symbolic meanings of colors in historical fashion, as described by Sicillo4.

White, used for the exterior of the giornea, was associated with silver, pearls, crystal, and diamonds, but also with celestial bodies like the moon and stars, as well as frost and snow. It represented purity, righteousness, joy, and chastity. Paired with blue, the color chosen for the lining, it conveyed courtesy and wisdom—qualities that were essential for any noblewoman in the 15th century.

When crafting this giornea, I kept in mind the dimensions of fabrics produced on late medieval looms, which were much narrower than today’s textiles. I deliberately avoided using modern fabric widths, working instead as though I had material less than one meter wide.

This choice was crucial, as it helps explain why many extant garments feature pieced-together fabrics. These patchwork-like constructions were often a necessity to create larger pieces from smaller cuts, and in especially luxurious garments, this can result in slight discrepancies in the alignment of fabric patterns, such as damasks and brocades, due to the limited size of the looms used to weave these materials.

In conclusion, I extend my best wishes to all the ladies who will compete to win this exquisite garment, hoping they will conquer it with their grace and beauty. A heartfelt thanks goes to Famaleonis for the opportunity to sponsor one of the most exciting events in the reenactment world.

Note:

1 Master of the Annunciation of Spermento (Giovanni Angelo d'Antonio?), 1456-1460, detached fresco from the former Church of San Niccolò di Valcaldara.

2 Piero della Francesca, Adoration of the Sacred Wood, middle register of the right wall, 1452-1466, Church of San Francesco, Choir Chapel, Arezzo.

3 Giovanni di Ser Giovanni, known as Lo Scheggia (?), circa 1450, Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence.

4 Treatise on Colors in Heraldry, Liveries, and Devices, by Sicillo, Herald to King Alfonso of Aragon, 1458.

Bibliografia:

R. Levi Pisetzky, Storia del costume in Italia II;

P. Fabbri, La moda italiana nel XV secolo. Abbigliamento e accessori.

M.G. Muzzarelli, Guardaroba medievale. Vesti e società dal XIII al XVI secolo.

M.D. Papi, Sicille araldo d’Alfonso V d’Aragona. Il blasone dei colori. Il simbolismo del colore nella cavalleria medievale,

E. Tosi Brandi, L’arte del sarto nel medioevo. Quando la moda diventa un mestiere.

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