A tourist visiting Como - a town looking onto the lake by
the same name, eased between soft hills - cannot leave the city
without getting acquainted with its most typical and traditional
product, silk. In shops and factories you just have to choose
between ties, foulards and everything that can be made with this
precious fabric.
Silk production dates back to the domination of the Savoia,
but even today it is the city's strong point: every year the
International events "Idea Como" and "Como Moda"
are dedicated to it. Since 1990, also, you can visit the "Museo
didattico della Seta", which was created as a rightful
testimonial of Como's silk history, a tangible sign of a continuity
between past and present, of an industry that maintains a primacy
compared to the whole world.
The Museum covers an area of about 900 square metres and is
located in the same building as the textile school, the Setificio. It
is divided in various halls following onto the central
reception hall, where a factory entrance was recreated, and an there
is an exhibit of precious factory timeclocks.
In the various rooms, machinery and looms used in the past Como
plants. In the central hall, after a brief overview on silkworm
breeding and trattura (silk spinning), instruments for weaving
preparation; in the weaving room there are two hand looms, one
jacquard and one double dobby loom with pattern reading through small
boards.
When you enter the controls and measurements room, the chemical
lab is faithfully rebuilt with period furniture and instruments. The
room dedicated to the dyeworks, followed by the printworks
keeps, among others, the colour kitchen and a hand printing table
with paintings, period drawings and tools for photo incision.
A further section is reserved for the display of models of small
mechanised machines for flat printing and for roller printing. The
last room is devoted to the special finishing of textiles. Of
particular interest is a plating machine, an old wooden machine which
created the moiré effect on silk, and the important 1932
Palmer.
A visit to the museum is an excellent opportunity to get better
acquainted with the history of the city, understanding how the silk
fabric is made, how the yarn is obtained, how the precious yarns are
obtained, how they are coloured and finally, how the famous prints
designers the world over love so much are made.
August.2002
The silk
museum
Municipality
of Como (In Italian)
:: ITALIAN STYLE :: FASHION ::
