Stitch by Stitch: Community building in Corsica
Between the sea and the mountains in Corsica’s Cap Corse region lies the small coastal village of Luri; it is here that embroiderer Nadia Albertini chose to make a home. Yearning to forge a sense of community in her new home, in 2024, Albertini started an embroidery group with women on the island. It began with the help of a friend who hosted a dinner where typical Corsican dishes were prepared. “The fire crackled in the fireplace, and ten women gathered around the table to embroider together, ”Albertini says. Some women were novices; others had stitched before as children learning from their grand-mothers.
After this first meeting, the project began to evolve. A few weeks later, Albertini was invited by her friend, Rita Scaglia, a renowned and respected photographer from Corsica, to participate in Anima Selvatica, a Corsican wildlife festival. “I immediately thought of doing a collective embroidery project with this wonderful group of women I had met,” Albertini recalls. She selected 16 endemic Corsican plants for the collective to embroider, including the immortelle – plants representing botanical richness in this area.
Flower field in Lavatoggio, Corsica.
“In Corsica, nature and the coastline are fiercely defended, protected and revered,”Albertini says. “Each participant chose a plant to embroider, inspired by the research of a great Corsican botanist, Marcelle Laprade Conrad.” “Behind this project lies the desire to pass on and safeguard embroidery as a craft, a skill and a social link.” “The group, including embroiderers of all ages and backgrounds, met regularly, and each member played a role of facilitator, teacher, and mentor. In this way, our work grows little by little, organically, through word of mouth and friendship.”
The work has personal meaning. “This joint embroidery is a tribute to Corsica, to its nature, to the happiness and balance it brings us daily,” Albertini says. “But it’s also a tribute to these Corsican women’s sisterhood and quiet strength. This island’s warm welcome and mutual support are emblematic of that what can be found all over the Mediterranean.”
I learned embroidery from my Mexican grandmother when I was six years old. My mother’s family is Mexican, and my father’s family is Corsican. She taught me the fundamental stitches, and I loved spending time with her embroidering colourful flowers for cushions and tablecloths; those are the purest and most joyful memories of my childhood, my foundation. For me, this island has always represented a very wild and pure part of me. I come here to rest, reconnect with nature and a simple way of life, slow down, and pay more attention to natural rhythms and my surroundings. It allows me to refill my creativity and my thinking. This project has been a way to return to my original passion for embroidery: doing it with women I love and admire.
Nadia Albertini, embroidery designer and textile historian.
“I was immediately inspired by the idea of using embroidery as a means of connecting with nature. Corsican nature is remarkably well preserved, with its beauty, its smells and its diversity. The embroidery technique forces us to slow down and look at things differently, calmly, and attentively. It leaves room for rigorous contemplation, down to the smallest detail, of the varieties offered by these magnificent wild plants. In my design, I chose to focus on the remarkable Euphorbia. It is hardy and imposing; it has spectacular bluish-grey evergreen foliage and blooms, with a palette of colours ranging from bright yellow-green to burgundy-brown at the end of the season. Before this project, I had never embroidered. Nadia’s enthusiasm and simplicity convinced me to join her original artistic project.”
Valerie Pitassi, Conservator
“This opportunity introduced me to much more than embroidery itself. What struck me was the richness of the encounters: Corsican women, all different but united around the same project. Corsica is a place that speaks through its landscapes, colours and textures. Everything seems to have a presence: the rocks, the wind, the sea, the light that changes with the day. Embroidery is a way of capturing these sensations, of prolonging a moment, a detail that might have gone unnoticed. There’s also an attachment to simple things, to gestures passed down quietly that leave an imprint. If I had to choose an emblematic flower in Corsica, it would unquestionably be the Immortelle. It withstands the fiercest sun and exudes a powerful fragrance even long after it has been picked. To me, it is the soul of this island: luminous, wild and unforgettable.”
Valérie Orsoni, Photographer and Marine Biologist
“I learnt to embroider by chance, or rather, I didn’t learn! I practice free embroidery, a slightly messy but limitless creative space. Each stitch becomes a creative exploration, with no constraints, just the joy of letting the threads intertwine. Embroidery weaves an intimate bond with Corsican nature, where each stitch evokes the growing flora. For us, embroidery is a way of honouring our land and reconnecting with an ancestral skill that conveys memory and delicacy. I love the moments of conviviality, calm, joy and timelessness that we share. It’s fascinating to see the diversity of expressions that create a unique piece with harmony made up of all our differences.”
Rita Scaglia, Photographer
“My approach to embroidery was born of a deep-seated need to reconnect with the passing on of skills. When I was younger, I passed up the opportunity to learn to crochet from my great aunts, a decision I now regret. For me, embroidery has become a bridge between past and present, filling the void and honouring those missed moments. Corsica is my roots; it’s a land of contrasts, between sea and mountains; nature is omnipresent and powerful. It’s an inexhaustible source of inspiration. As a photographer and artist, I’ve always been fascinated by the interplay of textures, shades of colour and subtle details. Embroidery extends this artistic eye: it’s another way of capturing the essence of the island, stitch by stitch. It translates the raw beauty of Corsica into a tactile art form where patience and precision echo the demands of the photographic eye.”
Marie Josée Panisi, Photographer
“Corsica is living material. My embroideries reflect this: irregular, spontaneous, graphic and colourful, they carry within them the raw, luminous joy of this contrasting land that is constantly regenerating itself, just like A Murza, the immortal flower, which takes its name from its ability to never fade, and which I love in all its forms. Embroidering together means making the threads we cross become a common language, a weaving of voices, laughter and gestures that recalls the collective luminous force of the island of beauty. This land is inspiring, for its dark side and beauty, something you cannot find elsewhere. A land of contrasts: sometimes it can be challenging to live in its climate, but at the same time, it has a generous landscape – a permanent contradiction. When I draw, I often change the medium, technique or tool I am working with; I don’t think I will ever be able to express all its richness and complexity.”
Florence Giordano, Graphic Designer and Ceramic Artist
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Further Information:
Selvedge Events with Nadia Albertini:
Online Workshop:
Sunday 24 & 31 January 2027, 2 - 5pm GMT: Ribbon Embellishment with Nadia Albertini
London Textile Month Online Talk:
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Gulf of Sperone, Corsica
All embroidery images courtesy of the artists.
Illustrations: Sue Stone