The silk museum was founded in 1953 in Garlate , commissioned by the Swiss entrepreneurs ABEGG. The structure previously housed an eighteenth-century mill: the purpose of the ABEGG was to hand down to scholars and industry professionals the tools created over the centuries by the silk industry.
Surrounded by a garden of mulberry trees, the Museum, donated in 1976 to the Municipality of Garlate, retains a rich collection of machinery and allows users to observe all stages of silk production. Of great importance is the hydraulic circular torch dating back to 1815, able to twist hundreds of wires simultaneously. The tour ends with a sector dedicated to the future, where new research and applications of silk in the biomedical field, cosmetics and the production of new yarns are presented. The museum also has interactive workshops and animated tours for all types of targets.
THE BACHICULTURE (room n.1)
THE WORM
The silkworm is an insect necessary for the production of silk. To become a butterfly it builds an envelope, called a “cocoon”, covered with silk threads.
A month after the egg is laid, the caterpillar makes a cocoon for its chrysalis phase using the starch of the mulberry leaves it eats.
This produces the silk thread for two whole days thanks to its special digestive system.
THE COCOON
The cocoon, as we said before, is covered with hundreds of silk threads, which can reach exceptional lengths (over 1000m).
The cocoons must be subjected to different processes:
STRIPPING: a process that is carried out by hand, or by special machinery capable of removing the fur by which they are covered.
SUNNY AND STEWING: necessary to prevent the worm from escaping and turning into a butterfly.
DRYING: the cocoons are heated by hot air, so that they lose most of their weight, and then stored in well-guarded places to prevent them from being infected with parasites.
THE TWISTING (room n.2)
THE HYDRAULC CIRCULAR TORCH
The first complex machine that man built was used to weave silk threads simultaneously at different speeds. It is the most significant machine exhibited in the museum, because it is the only one to have survived intact and complete to this day. Built in 1815, thanks to its preservation, it has served as a guide and teaching for the restoration of subsequent specimens.
WEAVING (Room n.3)
The weaving of silk is made horizontally using the loom, and arrived in Europe around 1150 from the Middle East with the Crusades. This technique consolidated the use of the orthogonal interweaving of warp and weft. All types of fabric, including silk, come from the East. The famous “Silk Road”, which started from the Chinese city of Xi’an up to Byzantium, helped to form a culture of the fabric through intense exchanges, and found a particularly fertile ground in Italy during the Renaissance.
THE SILK TRADE
The silk trade has always been one of the most important sectors of development in the world, and employs many workers.
With the introduction of new technologies, it has increasingly expanded the knowledge of silkworms, favouring the discovery of biological and technological characteristics, which have opened the way to systems aimed at increasing human comfort.
In this area you will be introduced and described all the innovations that will be implemented in the future, a sector that is taking its first steps, with promising potentials, which concern medicine and human well-being, as well as cosmetics.
In the world there are many specialized research centers to find applications of silk, both in traditional fields, and in those just mentioned.
TRAIN: the museum is located 2.5 km from the railway station of Calolziocorte-Olginate. From the station you can walk about 30 min on the path that runs along the lakes of Olginate and Garlate.
BUS: the stop Garlate (City Hall), located in front of the museum. Lines 50 Lecco-Valgreghentino-Brivio-Lomagna. A pedestrian underpass allows the crossing of the provincial road.
BICYCLE: the museum overlooks the cycle path of the lakes along the route that connects Lecco to Calolziocorte. The route, 10 km long, is simple and takes a time of 1h30.
CAR: The museum is located on Provincial Road 72. There is ample parking in Via Dopolavoro, adjacent to the museum.
site:
Civic Museum of Silk Abegg, Garlate-Lecco
http://www.museosetagarlate.it
The museum is open in white and yellow area. To ensure the safety of all visitors entrance will be allowed only by reservation, up to maximum 25 people.
Opening hours:
Saturday: 14.30/17.30
Sunday: 09.30/12.30; 14.30/17.30
prices: 6€, reduced 4€