Italy's City of Silk

Como is synonymous with silk. A global hub for silk production since the 14th century, the Italian province is known across the world for its exceptional craftsmanship and high-quality textiles. The city of Como is home to a duo of museums which together tell the fascinating story of Italy’s textile heritage.

The Museo della Seta

Museo della Seta di Como silkworm illustration

The building - the basement of the National Technical Institute of Silk Production (Setifico) – may be unassuming but the Silk Museum’s collection takes you on a captivating journey of discovery through the entire silk-making process.

Discover the origins of silk manufacturing along the ancient Silk Road, follow the lifecycle of a silkworm and its relationship with the mulberry tree – the leaves of which are its soul source of food – and take a deep dive into the complex processes of dying, weaving and printing. As well as many hand operated and mechanical looms (rescued from the factories that closed at the end of the 20th century), there’s also a chemistry laboratory equipped with all the original instruments and furnishings.

Museo della Seta di Como silkworm illustration

Visiting the Museo della Seta is an immersion into the wonderful world of silk, an Eastern art form that reached the shores of Lake Como where is flourished and seduced the world.

Fondazione Antonio Ratti

The Fondazione Antonio Ratti (FAR) is home to one of the most remarkable textile collections in Italy. Created in 1985 by silk entrepreneur and collector, Antonio Ratti, today Villa Sucota on the shores of Lake Como has become a unique resource that traces the textile history of the world from the third to the 20th century.

Fondazione Antonio Ratti facade

Among the more than 3,300 textile fragments are Coptic and Indigenous American textiles, Italian velvets, Indian and European cashmere shawls, French silks, Congolese Kuba cloths, Central Asian ikats, Alsatian printed cottons and Japanese kimonos. These are joined by almost 3,000 sample books charting the industrial production of textiles in France and Italy over the past two centuries. The story Como’s silk production is told in a special section that includes early designs by Antonio Ratti himself.

The FAR collection, along with a library of almost 8,000 volumes, was opened to the public in 1998 because, as Ratti explained, “in my life, I have always found inspiration for my creativity in museums. I want others to be able to have the same experience." Encountering his – still growing – collection is guaranteed to spark the imaginations of all who encounter it.