Tapestry and Upholstery Museum (Bologna)

The Tapestry and Upholstery Museum, officially known as the Museo del Tessuto e della Tappezzeria "Vittorio Zironi," is a specialized textile museum in Bologna, Italy. It is housed in the Neoclassical Villa Spada in the Porto-Saragozza quarter, southwest of the city center. Founded in 1946 by master upholsterer Vittorio Zironi and opened to the public on 6 November 1966, the museum holds a unique worldwide collection documenting the history and craft of upholstery and textile arts. Since 2016 it has formed part of the Musei Civici d'Arte Antica under the Istituzione Bologna Musei, though it has been closed to the public since September 2018.

The museum originated from the vision of Vittorio Zironi (1916-1999), a Bolognese upholsterer who conceived the institution during his imprisonment in Germany during World War II. Upon his return, he spent two decades gathering materials with fellow craftsmen and enthusiasts. The museum was inaugurated on 6 November 1966 by Giovanni Elkan in six rooms of the Palazzo Salina Brazzetti on Via Barberia in central Bologna. The collection grew through private donations and institutional contributions, eventually necessitating larger quarters. In 1990, following conservative restoration of Villa Spada, the museum relocated to its present site, inaugurated on 5 November that year. The new premises allowed expansion to include a philatelic collection devoted to upholstery, a specialized library, and a textile restoration laboratory serving both public and private clients. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary in 2016, Zironi's collection was donated to the municipality, integrating the museum into the Musei Civici d'Arte Antica. Management passed to Settore Musei Civici Bologna on 1 July 2022.

The collections are organized typologically and encompass an exceptionally broad range of textile arts. Italian fabrics dominate, including damasks, lampasses, brocades, velvets, taffetas, and liserés. The museum also holds significant holdings of Oriental and Asian textiles: Turkish, Egyptian, Coptic, Caucasian, Persian, Indian, and Japanese pieces. Further categories include lace and embroidery, sacred vestments, clothing and costumes, flags and banners, leatherwork, and trimmings. The collection extends to tools of the trade: looms, instruments, and upholstery machinery. Notable sub-collections feature Aemilia Ars lace and embroidery, Umbrian textile works from the Scuola di Sorbello, and jewelry designs by Alfonso Rubbiani. Drawings for Aemilia Ars lace, page headings, and ornamental initials by Guido Fiorini, one of the movement's most inspired designers, form another significant holding.

Among the museum's signature holdings are the Aemilia Ars designs, particularly the jewelry drawings by Alfonso Rubbiani and the lace, page-heading, and ornamental-initial designs by Guido Fiorini. These works represent the apex of the Bolognese Arts and Crafts movement. The museum has mounted focused exhibitions on these materials, including "Bologna Bella - I disegni di gioielli della donazione Cavazza: Aemilia Ars e Alfonso Rubbiani" and "I disegni di Guido Fiorini - Opere per merletti Aemilia Ars, testate di pagina e iniziali ornate." The Coptic textile collection and the historical upholstery apparatus also constitute scholarly resources of international standing.

The museum occupies Villa Spada, a former aristocratic suburban Neoclassical mansion at Via di Casaglia 3, outside Porta Saragozza. The villa was originally commissioned by aristocrat Jacopo Zambeccari (died 1795) from architect Giovanni Battista Martinetti. In 1820 it passed to the family of Clemente Veralli Spada, and subsequently to various private owners including the Pisa and Levi families. The municipality of Bologna acquired the property in 1964. The estate features formal and informal hillside gardens with views over Bologna, and a faux-medieval tower. The interior preserves sculptures by Giacomo De Maria and painted decorations by Serafino Barozzi and Filippo Pedrini. The building's restoration was carried out in agreement between the museum and the municipal government.

The museum is located at Villa Spada, Via di Casaglia 3, in the Porto-Saragozza quarter southwest of central Bologna. It is owned by the Comune di Bologna and managed by Settore Musei Civici Bologna as part of the Istituzione Bologna Musei network. The museum has been closed to the public since September 2018.