The story began in the 15th century when Italian sheep were crossed with Rambouillet Merino rams donated to the Papal State by Spanish rulers.
It is often surprising how one can be deeply moved in this life, day in and day out, by so many different images… Even that of a simple herd, quietly grazing along the Apennine Mountains or lazily trailing the banks of the river Piave, can provoke the most subtle, yet sublime, of emotions.
Since 2000, Roberto Bottoli has travelled between the Italian regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Marche and Puglia to find and select the best Italian merino fleeces from the breeds Sopravvissana and Gentile di Puglia. Only the finest fleeces are used to make the innovative fabrics labelled Lanaitaliana® Stile di Vita.
Originally, the most common fleeces were dark in colour. Over the centuries, however, white became more popular because it was better suited for dying. Through careful combinations, and by supporting and advising farmers, Bottoli manages to select the fleece’s natural chromatic tones – from white to dark brown, including intermediary shades such as noisette, tobacco and cocoa. The fleece is later used to produce fabrics just in natural colours that have not been dyed or exposed to chemical treatments.
100% merino wool, spun and woven in Italy.
Eco-friendly textiles made from naturally coloured fleece. No colouring, no dyes.
Only excellent fibres and the century-old craftmanship of the Bottoli Wool Mill could produce these extraordinary textiles that allow you to put on a piece of authentic Italian history and culture.
Since the very beginning, Bottoli Wool Mill has favoured the use of natural fibres such as wool, silk, linen, hemp and cotton. In recent years, we have also been devoted to researching innovative natural fibres. Thanks to our research, textiles made with casein fibres (from milk), by-products of marine algae, mulberry wood viscose and abaca (also known as Manila hemp) have made their way into our collections. In our most recent eco-friendly Spring/Summer-collections, yarn from undyed hemp and linen has been used to create textiles with a natural charm.
