The former Cimatoria Campolmi is the only nineteenth-century production complex still existing within the fourteenth-century walls of the city, built where the gora delle gualchiere (fulling millpond) flowed, one of the most important in the city so that in this area were concentrated craftsmen who practiced the art of fabric processing. In 1863 it was taken over by three entrepreneurs already active in the textile sector and initially the Leopoldo Campolmi & Co imposed itself as a factory specialized in the cimatoria, a phase of the fabric processing that consists in cutting and smoothing the surface of the fabrics. Afterwords, the factory expanded to hold all stages of processing the fabric including dyeing.  The activity of the factory ceased in 1968 but some processing steps continued until the early 90s. Inside the factory still preserves a huge 19^th century steam boiler and in the inner courtyard the splendid chimney, the highest in Prato that rises among the roofs of the historical center. The oldest part is the cross arch structure and houses the ground floor of the Textile Museum which, moved here in 2003, gathers not only the largest and most prestigious national textile collection, but also the historical memory of the city.
Since 2009 the former building, in particular the area that housed the dyeing of the old factory also called "the cathedral" for its ogival shape, houses the Istituto Culturale e di Documentazione “A. Lazzerini”.

Discover the Campolmi (2.4 MB)

Art in Campolmi (457.2 KB)