In the park of Via Volta in Busto Arsizio, time stops for a moment. The imposing building with neo-Gothic features, with crenellated turrets and exposed red bricks, was once a cotton mill. It housed the spinning department of the Carlo Ottolini cotton mill, which later became Bustese. Now, from the very high ogival windows of the Textile Museum, the light is reflected on the looms used for the production of jacquard. The marking, packaging and shipping of the pieces. Evidence of a living past, such as the experience room, where it’s possible to understand the transition from the cotton flock to the finished fabric. The examples of high fashion and innovative fibers are on the upper floors. For the curious, a specialised library with a collection of samples, period magazines and technical manuals.

For ApritiModa, the Busto Arsizio Textile Museum offers a thematic guided tour of the collections, led by an operator from the Museum Educational Services. For the 2024 edition, a new path will be proposed that brings textiles, fashion and art into dialogue, with references to the collections of the Civic Art Collections of Palazzo Marliani Cicogna.

The guided tour will therefore begin at the Textile Museum (via Volta 6) and includes a short 5-minute walk to Palazzo Marliani Cicogna (piazza Vittorio Emanuele II), where the itinerary will end.