With its 3,600 sqm of exhibition area, the Prato Textile Museum is one of the major European institutions dedicated to the promotion of old and contemporary textiles. It was created in 1974 within the Tullio Buzzi Technical Industrial Institute as support to the training of textile technicians; in 2003 the Museum found a permanent home in the prestigious premises of the former Campolmi Factory, an imposing example of the city's industrial archaeology. The Museum documents the art of fabric from the Paleochristian era to our days, with a total of about 6000 pieces from quite different collections. At the museum one can admire an extraordinary range of ancient fabrics, Pre-Columbian textiles, Italian and European silks from the 13th to the 19th century, as well as European and ethnic textiles and clothes, embroidered textiles and sacred vestments. There is also a collection of 20th-century textile samples from local historic companies and a collection of instruments and machinery. Finally, the Museum includes an archive of contemporary fabrics which document the development and changes in fashion from 1976, the date of the first Prato Espone trade fair, to our days, including innovative and experimental materials.
The Textile Museum organizes educational activities for schools of all levels, events, and great exhibitions that focus on topics connected with the history of fashion and textiles and past and contemporary fashion. The Museum has a cafe, a bookshop that sells gadgets, products by local artisanal companies and works about fashion, costume and textile art.
For more information:
www.museodeltessuto.it