{"id":108395,"date":"2026-06-19T10:58:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/?p=108395"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T09:58:40","slug":"the-textile-industry-in-milan-a-model-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/en\/corporate-culture\/book-reviews\/the-textile-industry-in-milan-a-model-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The textile industry in Milan: a model history"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>A new collection of essays just published detail the origins and development of a vital economic sector<\/em><\/p><p>A rich and complex story, which serves as an example of just how valuable a tradition can be when given a fresh perspective: not dusty objects on display, but living experiences brought to life. This is one way of interpreting &#8216;Il lusso di avere una storia. La tradizione del tessile e del tessile di lusso a Milano (1500\u20131859)\u2019 (The luxury of having a history: The tradition of textiles and luxury textiles in Milan (1500\u20131859)), a recently published book comprising a series of essays by various scholars recounting the history of textiles in Milan over several centuries.<\/p>\n<p>Edited by Giovanna Tonelli, a professor of modern history at the University of Milan, this book aims to guide readers through the history of Milan&#8217;s textile industry, particularly the luxury sector, through a general bibliography covering the period from 1500 to 1796. The reader\u2019s journey consists of several stages. First, there is an in-depth analysis of the sector\u2019s economy during the period indicated in the title. Then, there is an essay on the galleries of portraits of the benefactors of Milan\u2019s Luoghi Pii, which are extraordinary sources for the history of textiles and fashion. Next, there is the biography of a tailor who lived between the late 18th century and the Napoleonic era. Finally, there is a survey of the leading luxury textile artisans active in Milan between 1815 and 1859. For the reader, this is a journey of discovery that begins with an analysis of the texts, moves on to an examination of groups of entrepreneurs within the sector and then delves into a specific case study. Finally, it returns to a broader perspective, providing a survey of the city\u2019s entire textile sector in the mid-19th century, organised by specialisation. This back-and-forth movement between the specific and the general enables the reader to gain an understanding of both the details and the broader picture of a sector that is important not only for the local economy.<br \/>\nEdited by Giovanna Tonelli, this book is a valuable resource for understanding the development of the cultural environment in which one of our country&#8217;s leading figures has made their mark:\u00a0 the fashion industry. The conclusion we are led to draw is that, in Milan, the luxury of having a history has generated both luxury and history.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Il lusso di avere una storia. La tradizione del tessile e del tessile di lusso a Milano (1500-1859)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Giovanna Tonelli (ed.)<\/p>\n<p>Franco Angeli, 2026<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new collection of essays just published detail the origins and development of a vital economic sectorA rich and complex story, which serves as an example of just how valuable a tradition can be when given a fresh perspective: not dusty objects on display, but living experiences brought to life. This is one way of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-corporate-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The textile industry in Milan: a model history - Fondazione Pirelli<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondazionepirelli.org\/en\/corporate-culture\/book-reviews\/the-textile-industry-in-milan-a-model-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The textile industry in Milan: a model history - Fondazione Pirelli\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new collection of essays just published detail the origins and development of a vital economic sectorA rich and complex story, which serves as an example of just how valuable a tradition can be when given a fresh perspective: not dusty objects on display, but living experiences brought to life. 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