RITESSERE — Exhibition on Silk and Weaving

The silk that designs the future

RITESSERE — a thread between tradition and innovation is an exhibition dedicated to silk, for centuries one of the pillars of the Lombard economy and particularly of the Brianza region. Inaugurated at Villa Zoja, in Concorezzo (Province of Monza and Brianza), the exhibition tells the story of the silk supply chain and its surprising scientific relevance.

An interactive exhibition

The setup features display cases with silkworms, installations, and interactive workshops where researchers from the Milanese university guide children in discovering thread processing. The experiential heart is a loom on which visitors can try their hand at the ancient art of weaving, experiencing firsthand a gesture that has spanned centuries.

From tradition to science

The exhibition is the public outreach phase of the scientific project RITESSERE (Silk Sericin Materials from Textile Industry By-Products), curated by the Politecnico di Milano with the support of Fondazione Cariplo. The project studies how to transform sericin — a waste product of the silk industry — into innovative materials for life sciences: masks for cosmetics, three-dimensional scaffolds for cell cultures, films for sustainable packaging. An example of circular economy that starts from textile tradition to look to the future.

A travelling exhibition

After its inauguration in Concorezzo, RITESSERE continues its journey, visiting other Italian cities — from Padua to Milan, from Abbadia Lariana to Rovereto and Vigevano — bringing the loom and the story of Lombard silk everywhere. A path that connects silk-producing territories and enhances their cultural and industrial heritage.