Formed over the years thanks to generous donations from private individuals and targeted purchases, including the nucleus collected by textile historian Lucia Portoghesi, the Museum of Textile and Costume brings together artefacts from the 14th to the 20th century.
The exhibition route starts in the hall of honour of the ancient Rosari-Spada Palace where some of the items of the museum collection awaiting restoration are on display. The collection unfurling through the next five rooms, starting with the one dedicated to Umbrian textiles, among which the outstanding ancient Perugian tablecloths, which were reproduced in painting by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Ghirlandaio, Giotto and many others.
This is followed by the room of worked textiles, which well illustrates the richness and variety of this kind of artefacts, such as the chiselled velvet shawl from the Spitalfields factory (England) or the Collicola cushion, from the Spoletan palace of the same name.
The accessories room, on the other hand, displays a wide range of headwear, shoes, bags, documenting the care and attention given to the completion of clothing and houses precious items of men’s and women’s clothing, including the empire-style dress that
belonged to Princess Alexandrine Bonaparte, Napoleon’s niece. The room dedicated to sacred vestments closes the exhibition, where a series of artefacts from various periods and a precious velvet with “pomegranate” decoration from the 15th century can be admired.
