Les Dentelles are Cogne’s traditional bobbin laces, which used to be made with hemp and are now made with linen. The word “dentelles” comes from the French word “dent”, tooth, referring to the shape of the lacy edges.
The history of the Cogne Dentelles started in 1665. At that time some Benedictine nuns who were fleeing from Cluny monastery took refuge in Aosta Valley. The nuns staying in some of the towns of the region taught the women of the area the art of making bobbin lace. Lace was the ornament par excellence for the women of Cogne, the only note of refinement and frivolousness of their severe and rigid black dresses made of a material called “drap”.
The craft of bobbin lace-making in Cogne has been passed on directly from mother to daughter. Les Dentellières don’t use printed designs as patterns; they work exclusively from memory.  
At “Maison di pitz” apart from examples of lace and different materials, you can see bobbin lace being made by the Dentellières: a group of local women who pursue the maintenance and promotion of the traditional craft of Cogne lace-making.