Roberta Risolo

Jewellery maker | Otranto, Italy

Eastern lights

Roberta opened her Bottega in Otranto in 2016
She creates pieces in bronze, brass and silver
Her jewellery is a tribute to the values of her land

Roberta Risolo’s creations reflect the skills of her hands, the delicacy of her soul and the values of her land. Curious and passionate about jewellery ever since she was a child, she spent several years in Vicenza, one of the capitals of goldsmithing in Italy, to learn techniques from the masters, but then she felt the urgency to develop her own language. She found it in Otranto, her hometown in southern Italy, which is not just a town full of arts and history, but also the most eastern town in Italy: a gateway onto the sea, open to the rest of the world. Her pieces tell stories of brotherhood and dialogue between people and cultures and all of them stem from a real emotion that she wants to transmit.

Interview

©Mimmo Villani

What is the real value of jewellery for you?: I am not really focused on the actual value of a jewel. I mainly work with poor materials, like bronze and brass, or with pieces of olive wood. The real value is the ability to convey to someone else the emotions that I feel when something inspires me.
Where do you take your inspiration from?: My region, history, architecture, nature, the wind and the sea. I spent several years away from home in Vicenza to learn the craft, in the Marche region for an artistic residency, but I belong to Otranto where I was born. I came back a few years ago to realise my dream of opening my own goldsmith workshop, in 2016.
What does your hometown mean to you?: Otranto is a small town but it’s incredibly rich in the arts and history. Above all, it’s right on the sea, and it’s the most eastern piece of land in Italy. It’s both a beautiful and a symbolic place: a gateway to the rest of the world, open to different cultures and to welcoming other people.
What is the ultimate purpose of your creativity?: Once I learned how to master the techniques, my artistic challenge shifted to finding my own language in order to be able to transmit my emotions. I want to share my feelings and create a dialogue between people through my jewellery.

Roberta Risolo is a master artisan: she began her career in 2013 and she started teaching in 2014