Il Filatoio di Caraglio – Il Museo del Setificio Piemontese

The Filatoio di Caraglio (Caraglio Spinning Wheel) is a building of considerable architectural merit dating back to 1676: it is a rare example of industrial archaeology with the owners' house attached. Hence its characteristic turreted appearance: a productive building in need of defence, but also refined, suitable for housing the Galleani, Counts of Canelli and Barbaresco.
It is the oldest silk manufacturing complex in Europe to incorporate both reeling (the unwinding of the burr from the cocoons) and twisting (processing to improve the strength of the thread) operations. This was an important Piedmontese innovation that allowed greater control of the production process and, consequently, of the quality of organzine, a precious silk yarn that was the basis of the Piedmontese economy in the late 17th and early 19th centuries.
The yarn obtained was entirely destined for export: the main market for this product was the renowned Lyon weaving mills that constituted the most renowned textile pole in Europe until the 19th century.
Little has been preserved of these 'Magnificent Factories' that dotted the countryside of lower Piedmont: this is why the Spinning Wheel is a precious historical-economic testimony for the entire territory, to be rediscovered!
The old factory, now owned by the municipality and managed by a private foundation, has been converted into an exhibition space since 2002, which in 20 years has hosted over 60 major exhibitions, as well as a myriad of smaller events. The permanent 'Museo del Setificio Piemontese' (Piedmontese Silk Factory Museum) has been added to the exhibition activity. It is a unique visitor route in Piedmont, where it is possible to retrace the entire silk production chain and admire one of the rare reproductions of the hydraulic silk twisting machines, an ancient technology perfected over the centuries and a fundamental element in the evolution of silk manufacturing.