Museo del Damasco
Museum in Lorsica dedicated to damask and other silk fabrics, a craft the village has passed down for centuries.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Lorsica, a small village in the Valfontanabuona, has been known for centuries for weaving fine silk fabrics: damasks, lampas, taffetas, shantung and macramé. For a long time this craft was the community’s main source of wealth and gave women essential work for the household economy. According to one tradition the silk art was brought by Florentine exiles; according to another it came from Lombardy, where many people from Lorsica emigrated for work.
Among the fabrics produced, the most famous is damask, prized for its lustre, the precision of its patterns and its density, due to the high number of warp threads. The classic motifs are the palm, the rose and parsley; among the lampas, the Napoleonic bee on a blue ground, the striped pattern in Louis XVI style and the love knots are renowned. A local workshop preserves more than three hundred exclusive designs handed down within the family and continues to operate as the village’s last such workshop.
The museum, housed in a building on Via Casali, traces the stages of damask production, from mulberry trees and silkworms to the finished fabric, and holds antique looms and work tools.
Highlights
- History of damask weaving in Lorsica
- Antique looms and tools of the trade
- The stages of production, from silkworm to finished fabric
- Classic palm, rose and parsley motifs
- Damasks, lampas and taffetas of the local tradition
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
According to the Lorsica municipality’s entry, the venue has no architectural barriers.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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