While researching unusual things to do in Venice, I came across the Rubelli Collection and decided we should ask to come for a visit. Some years ago, we had the opportunity to visit and be in awe of Fortuny Fabrics. So, in the afternoon, we had an appointment at the Collezione Storica e degli Archivi Rubelli in the Palazzo Ca' Pisani Rubelli to see the amazing collection of historical fabrics produced by the Rubelli company. Based in Venice, with additional showrooms in Milan, Rome, Paris, London, Moscow, Dubai, and in ten US cities, it is a major producer of fine fabrics and other materials.
We were met by Elisabetta Giuriolo (Director of Fondazione Rubelli) and by Alessandro Favaretto Rubelli, the patriarch of the family and the 4th generation to own and operate Rubelli. His sons and daughter now run the company. We were able to sit and chat with Mr. Rubelli about his family’s history and the making of fine silk fabrics. They have collected over 6,000 textile documents dating from the second half of the 5th century to today. Among the oldest and most precious documents of the Collection are priceless Coptic fabrics, velvets and silk damasks chiseled and richly covered in gold, dating back to the 15th century, and a precious fragment of 16th century velvet "altobasso" decorated with the motif of the rosette surmounted by a crown: a fabric exclusively used for the stoles worn by the Procurators of the Serenissima (the “most serene” rulers of the Republic of Venice). Elizabetta took the time to show us drawers and drawers of the most beautiful fabrics we have ever seen. One of their latest projects was the Bolshoi Theater in Russia. This was a most extraordinary and delightful afternoon in Venice.