The magnificence that has always surrounded lace and the splendour that lace has helped to create, have been revived in the Arnaldo Caprai Museum Collection, which, with its more than twenty-two thousand pieces, including lace, books, machines, tools and other objects, gathers together over five centuries of history, from the Renaissance through to the first half of the twentieth century.

The Arnaldo Caprai Collection, which is under the protection of the Italian Ministry for Arts and Cultural Activities, comprises objects (with expertise) that belonged to queens, princes and famous people. The exhibits, which all refer to the textile world and in particular to the noble art of lace-making, cover a time span from the 8th century A.D. up until 1940.

* teacher and costume historian at the Ca’Foscari University in Venice and president of the Italian Centre for studies in the history of costume.