Alessandra Scarpari was born in Mantova in 1963. She attended the local Liceo Classico Virgilio and later went on to study Modern Foreign Languages at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, where she graduated in 1988. She currently teaches French at a Middle School within the Istituto Comprensivo of Porto Mantovano.
From a young age, Alessandra showed a strong inclination towards manual activities, which she learned from her parents (both tailors) and her maternal grandmother, who knitted and crocheted. Sewing machines, fabrics, needles, threads, and yarns were always present at home and became objects of play and experimentation.
After graduating, Alessandra moved to the Netherlands, where she resided from 1991 to 1998. Here, through participation in exhibitions and sector events, she discovered the world of textile art and was captivated by it. She began taking courses in patchwork and quilting to learn the related sewing and quilting techniques and became involved in groups and associations dedicated to this art form.
Upon returning to Italy, her professional path led her towards the world of education and teaching, but she continued to cultivate her passion for textile art by participating in sector groups and associations. From 2009 to 2015, she was a member of the shop-studio “La Bottega del Patchwork” in Porto Mantovano (Mn), where she regularly taught patchwork, quilting, and creative sewing courses.
Currently, Alessandra works full time as a teacher at a Middle School but, in her free time, has resumed teaching sewing courses and workshops. She also occasionally proposes sewing laboratories, both by hand and by machine, at school, always gathering significant interest and appreciation from the students.