Venice - from the women's prison to quality dress-making, imagination and design, so Italian

In the heart of the city of Venice, there’s a small boutique selling beautiful hand-made clothes for ladies. You can find it, quite by accident, as you wander from Accademia to the Rialto Bridge. It’s a very special shop. The clothes inside are stylish and brightly coloured. Every dress, jacket and skirt is individually made and is unique.

Opening the door, as a visitor, you enter a treasure trove of colours and rich fabrics. Dresses made of silk, skirts of taffetta and blouses of linen are lined up along the walls. The garments are beautiful, vibrant and designed in a 1950s retro style. Every piece slightly different.

When I walk into this shop I’m immediately transported back to the Venice of the 1950s. A city of beauty and mystery, a city where Katharine Hepburn came to find romance in the film ‘Summertime’. But this shop isn’t just about 1950s fashion, it’s actually the shop selling hand-made garments made in the Women’s prison of Venice. The tailoring department was started in the prison in the 1990s to give the women the opportunity to acquire new skills whilst in prison. The ‘Laboratorio Sartoriale’ has been very successful, and the shop was opened in Venice to sell the garments.

In truly poetic style, the web site explains….. that the shop’s heart beats to the rhythm of sewing machines, invisibly linking it to the tailoring workshop of the Giudecca Women’s Prison. Stepping inside offers a slow and welcoming experience.…….

When the pope visited Venice in April, 2024 his first stop was the Women’s Prison. Last year, in conjunction with the Venice Biennale, there was an art exhibition at the prison. The exhibition included a short film that was shown at the Venice Film Festival in September – with some of the female ‘detenute’ present – at least one of whom was wearing an outfit made in the ‘laboratorio sartoriale’.

_{Summertime (1955) – film starring Katharine Hepburn, directed by David Lean (left and right)}

_{Three of the ‘detenute’ of the prison attending the screening of a short film ‘Con i miei occhi’ by Marco Perego – as part of the Venice Biennale 2024}

Notes:

The shop is called ‘Bancolotto’ and is named after it’s original location which was a lottery ticket kiosk. Banco = counter / Lotto = lottery.
The address is Sestriere San Polo, Campo Sant’ Aponal, about ten minutes from the Rialto Bridge.
The term ‘detenute’ is the italian word for detainees – a respectful way of referring to the prisoners.
The tailoring unit at the prison is known as the ‘laboratorio sartoriale’.

I’ve written several articles about the Women’s Prison:
The Women’s Prison, Venice
I also wrote about last year’s Biennale and the Women’s Prison:
Venice Biennale – Foreigners Everywhere
Lastly I wrote about being turned away from the prison: They wouldn’t let me in….
On film in Venice and Katharine Hepburn’s Summertime: Venice and Film
Below (left) our friend Veronica modelling a silk, wrap-around top.

A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR – Janet Simmonds has Master’s degrees from Oxford University and Manchester University in Geography and History of Art respectively. Janet has worked with university groups, professional groups and well known journalists assisting and informing guests on life in Italy today. She offers guided tours throughout Italy where she acts as a guest lecturer and local expert.

In August 2025 she is organising an academic residency at St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford for MFA students from Alma College, Michigan. She will be hosting this event with Sophfronia Scott (Program Director) and team members Lucy Simmonds (English Teacher at the University of Ludwigsburg) and Bilge Akkol (Istanbul and Izmir expert).