Museo del Baco da Seta

The Silkworm Museum at San Giacomo di Veglia occupies part of the former Maffi silk mill in Vittorio Veneto. Its collections connect the life cycle of the silkworm with the rural work, trade and factory production that shaped the local economy.

Why it matters

Sericulture linked family labour in the countryside with industrial processing. The silk industry employed a largely female workforce and became an important activity in the Cenedese area. The former mill provides a material setting for that social and economic history.

What to notice

The museum follows the silkworm, Bombyx mori, from rearing to the cocoon and the reeling of silk. Sections address domestic breeding, filande, cocoon markets and the development of specialised silkworm strains. The industrial building adds another layer, preserving the scale and character of a workplace.

Context and history

The collections document local silk production from the late eighteenth century into the twentieth. The Maffi mill closed in the 1960s. Its later museum use preserved the memory of the industry, including the research associated with the Centro Genetico ed Ecologico del Baco da Seta.