Isili, MARATE - Museum for the Art of Copper and Textile

The Museum is located in the convent of the Scolopi Fathers, whose architectural elements have been enhanced by a recent restoration.
Copperworking and weaving are documented, which in Isili have on the one hand peculiarities, on the other hand, characteristics common to the Sardinian tradition.
The museum is divided into three sections: the first documents the traditional processing of copper and its characteristic form of street vending, the second dedicated to the ethnographic fabric is a museum in the form of a loom in which threads and warps are the characters of the place and of the historical identity; the plot is the elements and characters of practices and knowledge, the third section dedicated to the artistic fabric documents the art of weaving and the production of tapestries that constitute a synthesis between innovation and tradition.
In the museum, the coppersmith's shop has been rebuilt, complete with all the original equipment, including the typical cart for street vending, loaded with new artifacts and objects that were collected to recover the raw material through fusion. The themes of copper processing, mineralogy, metallurgy and the use of copper objects in pastoral and domestic activities, copper jargon and aspects related to street vending are developed.
In the part dedicated to ethnographic fabric, traditional Isilese tapestries, curtains, table covers and bags made mainly of wool and linen are exhibited, as well as parts of the loom and various tools used to weave and to work wool, the itinerary is enriched by films and illustrative panels.
In the section dedicated to artistic fabric, thirty tapestries are exhibited, handmade on horizontal looms, using wool and with copper decorations, of considerable artistic value, accompanied by design tables and panels that illustrate the entire technical and artistic process of processing from the production of wool to the techniques of dyeing with herbs to the use of copper in weaving to enhance original chromatic effects.
A video documents with a wealth of details all the phases of the processing of copper and fabrics. The sound design of the Museum makes it possible to give scientific objects and topics artistic musical support: sound memories, ambient sounds, linguistic idioms and melodies accompany the visitor on a journey back in time.

Why it's important to visit it
The Isili museum is the only museum dedicated to copper in Sardinia. It describes how objects of high functional and aesthetic value could be born from the coppersmith's workshop, such as pots, which constituted an ostentatious symbol of status for the bride. On the guided tour, you can visit the branch workshops and the weavers workshop and attend demonstrations on processing techniques.

Tag

Structure category: museum, gallery and/or collection

Content type: Ethnography and anthropology

Usability: Open

Province: South Sardinia

Common: Isili

Macro Territorial Area: South Sardinia

POSTAL CODE: 08033

Address: piazza San Giuseppe, 8

Telephone: +39 348 2231271 +39 380 4553856 +39 339 1121384

E-mail: museoisili@gmail.com biblioteca@comune.isili.ca.it

Website: www.marate.it

Facebook: www.facebook.com/museomarate

Information on tickets and access: For updated information on opening hours and the cost of tickets, we recommend that you visit the dedicated page of the museum's website.

Access mode: For a fee

Services information: La visita guidata è compresa nel prezzo del biglietto, non solo per i gruppi, ma anche per i singoli visitatori; la durata è di circa un'ora. Su prenotazione è possibile anche visitare i laboratori esterni di tessitura degli artigiani di Isili. Un percorso a scivolo consente di raggiungere l’ingresso del Museo alle persone con disabilità motoria. Nel corridoio che collega le tre sezioni del Museo un ascensore permette la visita libera in tutti i piani della struttura alle persone con disabilità motoria.

Update

27/1/2026 - 09:46

Services

Teaching room