rarest and most secret silk

Chiara Vigo at her 200-year-old loom.

For 24 generations, the secret has always lain with the women.  Royalty and pontiffs have been recipients of sea silk. It is mentioned in holy texts. But it has never been sold -- that would defy the magic. Now the tradition hangs, as it seems, by a thread. Why is it that a good secret cannot simply be protected and left to rest?

“If you want to enter my world, I’ll show it to you,” [Chiara Vigo] smiled. “But you’d have to stay here for a lifetime to understand it.”

Byssus, or sea silk, is one of the most coveted materials in the world – but after more than 1,000 years in the same matrilineal family tree, this ancient thread may soon unravel.

Vigo has been offered enormous prices. Of course she turned them down.