I LOVE THE SOUNDS IN THIS CHURCH CLASSROOM. I’m not talking bells or heavenly choirs. It’s the clickety-clack of wooden looms. It’s a calm, rhythmic beat that echoes softly through the vast gothic San Francesco delle Donne, The Women’s Church of Saint Francis. The building was turned from a holy place into a weaving workshop in the nineteenth century when 300 women had jobs here.

Now that craft tradition is beautifully preserved. Pale light filters through big curved gracious windows onto nine looms. In the space that was once an altar, round tables are draped with enticing creations for sale—royal blue, gold, and red patterned cloths. Their designs are callbacks to medieval times—grape leaves and that mythological griffon (half-bird, half-lion) that’s the symbol of Perugia. On another table delicately embroidered pieces add a light, elegant touch.

This is an extraordinary place to stop by and browse around even if you aren’t taking a class. You could even take a guided tour or spend some time at a simple loom to get a feel for how to work the threads as you pedal, like I did. It’s not easy! Nearby is the Perugia Duomo, where the BVM’s wedding ring is enshrined and from there you have the whole charming mix of Perugia’s cobblestoned streets lined with designer and artisan’s shops.

If you have a day or a week to sign up for a workshop, a step-back-in-time experience awaits. You’ll be learning to weave on simple shaft looms and then Jacquard looms, all built over a hundred years ago, that are scrupulously maintained here.

“I was in awe to be experiencing this small part of Italy’s history—to be a part of that continuity,” said June Rogovin, a student from California who’s been hand weaving for twenty years. “The teachers were so welcoming and patient, it was absolutely humbling at times.”

The Brozzetti workshop began in 1921 when Giuditta Brozzetti, who was the headmaster of Perugia’s elementary schools, was riding around in her horse and carriage and heard that clickety-clack sound coming from the looms of surrounding farmhouses. Weaving had begun in Perugia in the twelfth century, when the town became a textile-making center, turning out table coverings that were renowned all over Europe. Giuditta decided to open a workshop not only to preserve the handicraft that was dwindling away because of the Industrial Revolution, but also to give women jobs so they could become financially independent.

Now Giuditta’s molto-chic great-granddaughter Marta teaches the weaving classes. Marta (also an interior designer) is the only one around who knows how to repair those antique looms. In addition, she’s an extraordinary weaver, who recreates designs from medieval paintings, where those famous Perugia tablecloths are featured.

Marta’s seminars and one-week classes include lectures on the history of hand-weaving and there is an option to visit the nearby Citta di Castello, for a look at the Tela Umbra studio, to see a different style of weaving. The studio was created from the same inspiration as Brozzetti, to preserve the tradition and give women jobs. And since those women had children, Maria Montessori was brought in to open up a classroom that became her first training ground for teachers.

If you’d like to learn lacemaking and embroidery, classes with Lina Montagnoli, who has been at it for fifty years, can be arranged. She is a maternal and meticulous teacher, who can go simple for beginners or teach intricate medieval designs to the more advanced. When local women show up to her classes, she says, “They see it as group anti-stress therapy.”

Giuditta Brozzetti: Via Tiberio Berardi 5/6, 075 40236, www.brozzetti.com. Classes are held June through September, one-day seminars or one-week workshops.

TOURS

Bella Vista Tours (www.bellavistatours.com) arranges group artisan workshops here and throughout Italy.