Ten rooms tracing silk from worm to printed cloth
Photo: Vivimás · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why go
The museum covers about 1,000 square metres on floor -1 and is arranged in ten rooms, each devoted to one stage of the silk production process: from the silkworms to dyed yarns, hand printing and fashion collections. It houses the machines, tools, documents and sample books of Como's silk age, so you see the real equipment of a trade that made the town a world silk capital.
What sets it apart is how many ways you can visit. Besides the standard route, with or without an audioguide in three languages, the museum offers a scent route, a LIS (Italian Sign Language) route, a digital gaming route and a tactile route. Guided tours are offered in Italian and English, and small dogs are allowed in a carrier. Allow about an hour.
Gallery
Photo: Vivimás · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Marimari52 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Marimari52 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Emamonti · CC0
Highlights
The first rooms follow the raw material: the silkworm, the cocoon and the processing of the thread. The tools and machines on display show how the work was done in Como's mills. It is a good place to understand that silk begins as an agricultural product before it becomes a luxury cloth.
Later rooms show how yarns were dyed and how cloth was printed by hand, including the printing boards used on fabric. Como is known for printed silk, and this part of the visit explains the technique behind the scarves and ties that the town still produces.
The collection includes machines, objects, documents and sample books from Como's silk age. The sample books are colourful and tactile, a catalogue of patterns that once travelled to buyers around the world, and they give a sense of how fashions and trade worked.
Choose your route: a standard visit, an audioguide, or a themed one such as the scent route, the tactile route or the digital gaming route. A video tour of ten rooms in Italian Sign Language is also offered. These routes make the museum useful for families and for visitors with disabilities.
Practical information
From the official website:
From the museum's 2025-26 programme: Tuesday from 14:00 to 18:00; Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00. Monday is not listed as an open day. The booking page lists visit slots between 10:00 and 17:00; check the museum's site for any change in the 2026-27 season.
Single ticket EUR 10.00. Reduced EUR 7.00 for over 65s; EUR 5.00 for under 18s and students. Family ticket: parent EUR 7.00, child up to 18 EUR 3.50. Groups of 10 to 25 (guide in Italian included) EUR 7.00 per person; schools EUR 5.00 per person, with advance booking by email. Free entry for certain categories, including people with disabilities and a companion. Tickets are available at the museum or online, with an e-ticket by email.
Information correct as of November 2026. Hours and fees can change: check on the day before you go.
Getting there
It is about 20 minutes on foot from the lakefront at Piazza Cavour, or a short bus or taxi ride; the museum is in the building shared with the Setificio technical institute on Via Castelnuovo.
Train to Como San Giovanni (Milan-Locarno line) and walk about 15 minutes. The museum is near the station, on the south side of the old town. The journey from Milan takes 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the train.
The centre has traffic restrictions; check with the museum about the nearest parking.
The museum is on floor -1 and the entrance includes a ramp. Entry is free for people with disabilities and their companions, and the museum offers tactile, scent and sign-language routes.
Insider tips
Tuesday opens only in the afternoon, and Monday is not listed as an open day. Wednesday to Sunday the museum opens in the morning, closes for a break at 13:00 and reopens at 14:00.
Groups of 10 to 25 and school groups must book in advance by email. Individual visitors can buy at the museum or online and receive an e-ticket.
If you travel with children or want a different experience, ask about the scent, tactile and digital gaming routes, and the audioguide in three languages.
The museum is south of the centre, so pair it with a morning at the Duomo or an afternoon on the lakefront, and have lunch in town between the two.
Nearby
From the Lake Como City Guide, each with its own Holiplanet page. Straight-line distances.
Restaurant · 0.8 km
A seafood restaurant in an old Como silk mill, where the day's catch meets an open grill and a warm family welcome.
Discover more →Restaurant · 1.2 km
A Como restaurant serving the traditional dishes of its own land, with a large wine cellar and two welcoming dining rooms.
Discover more →Restaurant · 1.4 km
Apulian family recipes and fresh fish, served in the centre of Como a few steps from the lake.
Discover more →Restaurant · 2.2 km
A first-floor restaurant with a panoramic terrace right on Lake Como, serving revisited Mediterranean cooking with Lariana traditions.
Discover more →Hotel · 1.5 km
A city-centre hotel on Piazza Cavour, right by the lake boats
View hotel →Hotel · 1.5 km
A three-star hotel in a neoclassical building on Piazza Volta
View hotel →Hotel · 1.5 km
A grand Liberty-style palazzo in Como's historic centre
View hotel →Hotel · 1.5 km
A Liberty-style palazzo on the lakefront in the historic centre of Como
View hotel →All hotels on the Lake Como map → All things to do on the map →
Questions
In the 2025-26 programme: Tuesday 14:00 to 18:00 and Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00; Monday is not listed. Confirm on the museum's site for the current season.
A single ticket is EUR 10, reduced EUR 7 for over 65s and EUR 5 for under 18s and students. There is a family ticket and group and school rates, and entry is free for certain categories.
Ten rooms about the silk production process, from silkworm to dyed yarn and hand printing, with machines, tools, documents and sample books from Como's silk age. Routes include audioguide, scent, tactile and sign-language options.
At Via Castelnuovo 9, 22100 Como, in the building that also houses the Setificio technical institute. The museum is on floor -1 and the entrance includes a ramp.
Yes, in Italian and English. Groups of 10 to 25 pay EUR 7 per person with a guide in Italian included and must book by email. Check the museum's site for English tour rates.
