Going
beyond a wrought iron gate, in the old neighbourhood of San Frediano,
you enter in an enchanted world where the silence is broken only by the
rhythmic "noise" of the ancient looms.
This is the seat of The Antico Setificio Fiorentino, the last heir of
the "Art of Textile" of the Florentine Renaissance, which enters into
the new millennium producing the most precious silks.
Besides continuing the tradition of weaving antique damasks, brocades, lampass and ermisini ( special taffetas), the Setificio creates fabrics in thousands shades, even for the most modern projects.
 Spool winding machine used for the first part of the silk process. |
The
silk yarn arrives from the dyer (Dyeing is still done by hand) to
be spooled in the first step of the operation (winding). In
the warping room the process continues on the old machinery to prepare
the warping of the future fabric. The warping room is the heart
of the weaving process. After putting the beam into position at the edge of the loom, the threads have to be hand knotted, one by one, up to 24'000 for the most complicated textiles. |
 18th century warping machine created from a design by Leonardo da Vinci |
 |
All
the various phases of the process, respect the "soft" principle
that is a delicate handling that does not damage the yarn. Thanks
to the great skill and craftsmanship handed down for generations,
that come out from the looms very light textiles of pure silk, fabrics
of medium weight in silk and linen and the typical heavy Tuscan
fabrics in bourette silk. No
loom could reach such high quality results without the weaver's
job. |
|
The Antico Setificio Fiorentino produces pieces of art for its exacting customers, using the paper patterns from its archive to stitch trimming on its own made fabrics. The Setificio produces curtains, decorated bed spreads and particularly complex canopy beds.
Edging, tassels and braids created using designs from the archives > |
 |