A real treasure emerged out of nowhere, and was found in excellent condition. After removing “centuries‑old accumulations”, the medieval tannery was found along the nativity-scene street of Porta Pesa in Perugia. It may well be, the curators speculate, the very one where Giovanni da Masuccio, a distinguished Perugian of the 15th century, used to work.
The medieval tannery of Porta Pesa
Inside the tannery there is a well, because water was needed for the process. The vats, as reported by the local TGR news segment, are still lined with lime and are waterproof. One of them still has a stone placed like a bench for the operator who worked there. In the flooring there are traces of sulfur, most likely used in the tanning recipe. Who knows—perhaps the medieval tannery, now open to visitors, is indeed the one used by Giovanni da Masuccio. Archive records have yielded many details about his life (such as the fact that he went into debt to buy his wife a fur coat), and we know he was a tanner: observing the vats brought back to our attention after centuries, it’s fascinating to think that they may be the very ones where Masuccio applied his craft to the hides.
Images from the RAI report
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