Video transcript:
Como City of Craft and Folk Art: "We are creative, we are Como"
The video opens on a black background with white writing in the lower right corner saying “Como for change-makers sharing creative energies for resilient communities”. The writing fades out and gives way to the subtitle “10+1 key factors.”
On the disappearance of the subtitle, a black-and-white frame briefly comes up showing a person working at a loom. Alternating with rapid fade-out shots of the city of Como today, such as the first arm of Lake Como, the statue of Alessandro Volta, and the Life Electric monument, black-and-white images emerge of workers processing silk on historic machinery, as a clear reminder of Como’s silk-making tradition.
Overlaid on a wide view of the first stretch of the lake, a large body of water on a serene, clear day, the logo of Como City of Crafts & Folk Art appears with the “C” of Como in a light blue made up of thin silk-like threads. The image zooms in to bring the eye from the water to the land, as a musical crescendo is accompanied by an image of the hands of a conductor. This heralds a series of coloured images of modern silk processing. The first key factor “1 cultural heritage” appears in white lettering in the lower right corner. With the fade-out of the script colour images follow of looms and dyeing and colour fixing machinery with a reference to the production of a fabric bearing the Italian flag. Over the fading tricolour, an image of an immense villa on the lakeshore comes to the fore. In front of the villa’s facade a row of men and women is joined by the same fabric depicting the Italian flag being held in their hands. The shot backs away, leaving the villa increasingly in the background, as our attention is brought to a splendid view of the lake. As the music continues the image returns to the conductor, this time we see his face, as he brings in violinists playing on the balcony of a large villa. Once again, the shot zooms out, this time more quickly, to provide an overhead view of three Riva motorboats plying the green waters of the lake, each of which flying the Italian flag.
The image quickly changes to the second key factor “2 inclusion and resilience”, written in white in the lower right corner. As the text fades, the background shows a human chain joined, as in the previous scene, by tricolour flags, with the lake stretching out in the background. A rapid zoom out ushers in a series of colour stills of dozens of silkworms, looms and historical machinery used in the various stages of processing, as can now be seen at the Como Silk Museum.
Again with the white text at the lower right of the screen, the third key factor now appears with the wording “3 sustainability.” The writing then disappears as in the background we see a woman gently running her hand through the grass. A moment later we glimpse a closeup of her blue eyes as she gently strokes her hair and runs her hand over a pink dress with an embroidered floral pattern. The images follow rapidly one upon the other to fast tempo music, as we see a variety of fine fabrics in a thousand colours.
The fourth key factor is introduced with the white overlay script, “4 international cooperation.” The writing disappears and with a zooming-in and zooming-out of the camera, we see, on the one hand, groups of people enjoying an event in the green grounds of a large villa, with musicians playing stringed instrumentalists, with repeated shots of the Italian tricolour and, on the other hand, images of fabrics in the form of scarves and ties, and of historical volumes such as the “Weaver’s Handbook” on silk processing.
The next subtitle to appear is the fifth key factor “5 education and research”. It fades away as our attention is drawn to the background where we see the inner courtyard of the University of Insubria, to zoom in rapidly to a classroom with the sign “UNESCO Chair.”
The sixth key factor script “6 innovation” appears and dissolves as we see a young researcher computer-designing hi-tech machinery. Several images then roll on the use of digital technologies in the production of new textiles. References to silk and a variety of fabrics follow, both coloured and plain, and with a variety of motifs and patterns.
The seventh key factor “7 clean energy challenge” appears bottom right. The writing disappears as we are presented with young boys taking part in a race on the lakeside. Two imposing Lake Como villas come into frame, namely Villa Carlotta and Villa Balbianello. A group of women hold hands again with Italian flags in a huge green lawn encircled by trees. As the upbeat music continues we view a study of a middle-aged woman embroidering a pattern with needle and thread. The Italian flag, which in various sizes and formats forms the common thread of the video, returns, this time in the form of a huge stole being carried through the streets of the historic city centre by a group of people in medieval attire. The huge banner is carried throughout the centre until it reaches the front of the cathedral in Piazza del Duomo.
The eighth key factor appears in overlay at lower right, as “8 awareness.” The inscription then disappears as a number of images follow, showing the lake from above, a small fishing boat, fine fabric with a white pattern on a dark blue background, with red detail of two lake fish, and once again the group of people celebrating a major local event.
It is the turn of the ninth key factor to come up, once again in the lower right-hand corner, with the overlay “9 identity.” The writing disappears and images emerge of mannequins sporting fine and elegant clothing, with silver and gold tones. This is followed by a shot from above of Villa Olmo’s grand park and a view of its facade and the fountain opposite it. The image switches to show details of a silk cloth printed in black and white, with the very bright blue of one of the domes of Como’s Duomo.
The tenth key factor appears in overlay as “10 respect.” The inscription disappears while in the background there is a view from the royal box of the central hall of the Teatro Sociale of Como. To the right and left are the boxes, in the centre the stage and a drawn theatre curtain. A change of scene shows a man intent on rowing on a Lucia, a historic lake boat. The shot broadens out to show the green waters of the lake and many other similar boats plying the surface as the sun sets. From here, a variety of images follow, giving us glimpses of the lake’s shoreline and the lake itself, first from ground level and then from the surrounding mountains, as well as the facades of some villas and the sculptures of which they are custodians as part of the local cultural heritage, while violinists bring life to the porticoes of the villas.
The word “Creativity” appears in capital letters in overlay at the bottom and middle of the screen, but this time the script lingers there. In the background there is an enormous green park. Immediately afterwards there is a detail of a drawing being meticulously coloured by hand with a brush, followed by a similar process being performed with a digital medium and a special pen. The inscription “Creativity” dissolves on the conductor’s closing flourish of the music. The music seems to stop, but can be made out in the background. A wide view of Lake Como appears and, straight afterwards, there is a detail of a man’s hand writing the words “We are creative, we are Como” with a light blue marker on a large glass pane with the waters of the lake and the main monuments of the city as a backdrop. The music comes to and end as we are left with just the faint sound of water breaking against a surface.
