The Fascination of Silk

The shimmering lustre and soft drape of silk are legendary. For a few decades the Swiss economy also profited from the fascination of the fabric that once was as valuable as gold. While silk was woven in Basel and Zurich, silkworms were bred in the Ticino.

On the «Silk Days» you can visit the silkworm breeding at Ballenberg at the Farmstead from Novazzano TI (851) and see how the grubs eat their fill from the leaves of the mulberry tree to spin the precious silk thread. The unwinding of the cocoon, processing of the threads and finally the weaving are also demonstrated.