Palazzo Rospigliosi
The Museo del Ricamo (Embroidery Museum) is located on the ground floor of Palazzo Rospigliosi, which also houses the Rospigliosi and the Diocesan Museums.
For centuries, until recent times, Pistoia was rightly considered to be a centre of excellence for the production of embroidered cloth and the Museum has been created to preserve, maintain and exhibit many of the beautiful items produced. The documents, sources and numerous exhibits (from the 17th to the 20th century) are evidence of the widespread and deeply rooted activity of embroidery in the city, where the convents and enclosed orders, and later female educational institutes, ensured the survival of the practice, tradition, style, characteristics and methods of needlework used for both secular luxury and ecclesiastical pomp.
Embroidery is an ancient and very pistoian vocation, with its roots in olden times.