Piedmont is a location of traditional textile production and trade that are still alive today, e.g. in Biella and Chieri. Many of the historic silk, wool and linen manufacturing, industries, on the other hand, only survive, in the memories of their descendants, or persist, in architectural, or museum-based monuments.

A mixture of a lively textile industrial heritage and flourishing high tecnology businesses may be found in the small town of Chieri, south-east of Turin. As Early ad 1482, as association of cotton-processing companies was founded under the name of " Fustian Univesity". Later there was also some production of silk, linen and hemp textiles which continued until the 19th century, when the cotton industry gained the upper hand in the textile manifacturing; the introduction of the jacquard loom accelerated this process. Today there are still more than twenty places of production in the centre of town, most of them based on cotton and synthetic materials. All important historical textile regions in Piemont are connected with the Textile Route. In most cases theses regions can be found alongside river valleys due on the high requirement of water energy in former times.

Stations of the Chieri Route

Imbiancheria del Vajro; (Vajro Bleaching); Via Imbiancheria 12; I- 1 0023 Chieri 10; Tel: +390-11/9427421; Fax: +390-11/9490 763

Museo del tessile area Tabasso; (Tabasso Textile Museum); Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 353, I-10023 Chieri (TO); Tel: +390-11/9427 421; Fax: +390-11/9490 763; e-mail: info@fondazionetessilchieri.com