Lanificio Borbonico
Napoli (NA)
Hidden gemHistory & archaeology
The story
Behind Porta Capuana, inside a former Renaissance convent, the old Bourbon factory that wove the uniforms of the Kingdom is reborn today as a space for art and craft.
The story
The Bourbon Woollen Mill, or former Sava Woollen Mill, is the only example of industrial archaeology to have survived within the walls of Naples. In 1824 the knight Raffaele Sava obtained from King Ferdinand the right to set up a factory of cloth for the uniforms of the Bourbon army in a sixteenth-century cloister: with seven hundred workers, the ancient convent became the main supplier of fabrics of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
What to see
The great nineteenth-century industrial complex grafted onto the ancient convent, a rare testimony of manufacturing Naples. Today it is a living cultural space, animated by organisations such as Lanificio 25 and Made in Cloister, with concerts, contemporary art exhibitions, shows and workshops.
Tips
It is not a museum with fixed hours but a space of events: access depends on the concerts, exhibitions and initiatives under way, run by various cultural organisations. Check the programme on their official channels before going. You are in the area of the Ponte della Maddalena, towards Porta Nolana.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Bourbon Woollen Mill of Naples?
The former Sava Woollen Mill, the only example of industrial archaeology within the walls of the city: a factory of cloth for the Bourbon army set up in 1824 in a sixteenth-century cloister, today a cultural space.
What is done today at the Woollen Mill?
It is a cultural space with concerts, contemporary art exhibitions, shows and workshops, animated by organisations such as Lanificio 25 and Made in Cloister.
How do you visit the Bourbon Woollen Mill?
Access depends on the events on the programme: check on the official channels of the organisations that animate it.
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