Archeologie tessili. I lanifici abbandonati in Veneto tra decadenza e nuove opportunità: una prima indagine. / Textile Archaeologies. Abandoned wool mills in Veneto between decadence and new opportunities: a first survey

The wool chain – from breeding to textile production – represents a structuring element of the territories of Veneto, with the construction of an important number of wool mills. Until the crisis of the ‘80s of the last century, the wool textile sector gained international fame and quality accreditation, establishing a close link with the territory. In recent years, the rediscovery of new uses and the possibility of a short supply chain – involving the use of local wool and the reuse of greasy (shearing) wool – represents a plural resource: not only from the point of view of a new circular economy, but also in the possibility of reactivating these architectures, currently abandoned. The wool mills are an industrial heritage characterized by flexible and changeable spaces, now facing an evolutionary crossroads: disappear or undertake new paths of productive and territorial rebirth. Starting from a historical survey of the wool sector and the current potential offered by the reuse of waste, the research investigates new opportunities in an interdisciplinary sense: of memory and of the future.