Como has been a silk town since at least the fifteenth century, and the clearest way to see how is the Museo Didattico della Seta, which follows the fabric from silkworm to printed cloth with machines used between 1850 and 1950. Allow an hour or two there (our estimate), add the Fondazione Antonio Ratti only if you book ahead, and keep a little time for the shops. This guide explains why the city became known for silk, what each stop shows, and how to decide what is worth your afternoon. Opening hours and prices come from the sources listed at the end, checked on 22 October 2026, and they can change.
Why is Como known for silk?
The short answer is mulberry trees, then design. Silkworms feed on mulberry leaves, and the regional tourism site In Lombardia ties the first plantings around Como to Duke Ludovico Sforza, nicknamed Il Moro, a name linked to the Latin word for mulberry. According to the Fondazione Antonio Ratti, silk production in Como started in the fifteenth century and expanded into industrial manufacture in the mid-nineteenth century.
What kept the city ahead was not only weaving. The same foundation describes textile designers as the key factor behind the success of the Como silk district. One example it documents is Guido Ravasi, who designed fabrics for men's accessories between the two World Wars and, with his son Giuseppe, specialised in printing and worked with Emilio Pucci. Printing, patterns and sample books are the thread to follow here, and they explain why a visit is more about colour and craft than about farming.
What do you see at the Como Silk Museum?
The museum, at Via Castelnuovo 9, opened in 1990. Its collection includes machines, tools and technical equipment used between 1850 and 1950, many of them still in working order, according to the Abbonamento Musei listing. The route covers the full sequence: silkworm breeding, twisting, weaving, dyeing and printing. There is also a digital archive, a library and a set of vintage photographs of the city. The museum describes itself as the only museum in the world able to tell the entire production process.
The exhibition was renewed from June 2023 with funding from Italy's national recovery plan. Beyond the standard tour, with or without an audio guide, the museum lists an olfactory route, a tactile route, a route in Italian Sign Language and a digital game. Audio guides are available in three languages. The Abbonamento Musei listing also mentions a temporary exhibition, Di piega in piega, running from 2 October 2026 to 10 January 2027.
For planning, the listing gives these hours: closed Monday, 14:00 to 18:00 on Tuesday, and 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 from Wednesday to Sunday. It notes that hours may change. The museum's booking page lists an adult ticket at €10, €5 for under 18s and €7 for over 65s. You can buy at the door or book online, which sends an electronic ticket. Call +39 031 303 180 if you need to confirm a time.
Where else can you follow the thread?
Two other places add context, and neither is essential. The Fondazione Antonio Ratti, in Villa Sucota on Via per Cernobbio, holds more than 3,300 textile fragments from the third to the twentieth century and almost 3,000 sample books, plus a section on Como's own production. Antonio Ratti began collecting in the 1950s as a source of design ideas, and the collection has been open to the public since 1998. Visits are guided and, according to the foundation, only by appointment: write to info@fondazioneratti.org or call +39 031 338 4976. Its office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 17:30.
Villa Bernasconi, in neighbouring Cernobbio, is a Liberty-style villa built in 1906. In Lombardia describes the visit as a guided experience rather than a traditional museum. It suits travellers who like architecture of the period more than textile technique. Confirm times and booking before you go.
If you only have one stop, choose the Silk Museum. If you care about design and can plan a day ahead, add the Ratti collection. If you prefer buildings to looms, take the short trip to Cernobbio instead.
Is it worth buying silk in Como?
It can be, if you buy with a clear question in mind. The museum has a shop, according to In Lombardia, and Como's old centre has a number of silk shops, so you will not struggle to find one. What is harder is knowing what you are looking at. Because the city's strength is design and printing, a few simple questions help: what is the fibre, where was the cloth woven, and where was it printed? A seller who can answer plainly is a better sign than a low price.
Decide what you want before you walk in. A scarf or tie is easy to carry and easy to compare in daylight. Larger lengths of fabric are for people who already know what they will make. Spending an hour at the museum first makes shopping easier, because you will have seen how a printed pattern is built and how it should look up close.
How can you fit silk into a day in Como?
Start with the museum when it opens, because the route rewards unhurried reading. Then walk into the old town for lunch and the shops, and leave the afternoon for the lake or the cathedral. If you have booked the Ratti collection, put it in the late morning or early afternoon on a weekday, within the foundation's hours, and allow travel time on Via per Cernobbio. Tuesday is the awkward day: the museum opens only in the afternoon, so pair it with a morning on the lakefront.
For boats, sights and where to stay, the Como City Guide covers the rest of the day. The simplest plan is the museum, a slow lunch and one considered purchase, rather than a list of every silk address in town.
Official sources: Museo della Seta Como: tickets and booking, Museo della Seta Como, Abbonamento Musei: Museo Didattico della Seta, Fondazione Antonio Ratti: textile collection, Fondazione Antonio Ratti: Como production, In Lombardia: Como and silk and In Lombardia: Cernobbio.
Photo credits: cover by Yana Oleksiuk and silk shawls by Nimit N, both via Pexels.
