Founded by the master upholsterer Vittorio Zironi , the Textile and Upholstery Museum is set up inside Villa Spada , just outside the historic center of Bologna . Through ten rooms, the exhibition is divided into different sections dedicated to various types of fabrics , of Italian and French production from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century, from lace , embroidery , vestments , clothes , flags and banners , to leathers , trimmings , looms and tools for upholstery .

In some rooms there are also equipment for the production of fabrics such as an 18th century damask loom, which was modernized in the 19th century to the Jacquard technique thanks to which the times of weaving and the organization of textile production work were revolutionized. In recent years, the Textile and Upholstery Museum has also distinguished itself for its restoration laboratory .

The finding of the material stored inside is due to Vittorio Zironi , upholsterer by profession and careful connoisseur of textile products , who, starting immediately after the war, with the help of colleagues and collectors, in a few years constituted a collection of extreme value for variety and quality of the finds, which initially had the specificity of mainly including fabrics, accessories and processing tools used over the centuries in the field of upholstery. Over time, the Museum of Textiles and Upholstery's collection has included finished artifacts such as clothing, embroidered objects, drawings, archival materials and a highly specialized library.