Fabric Paradise - Bassetti Tessuti in Rome

Bassetti Tessuti from Lonely Planet

Address Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 73, Centro Storico

Phone tel: 06 689 23 26 (info)

Keyword art/craft

Hidden away in a run-of-the-mill palazzo (palace), Bassetti Tessuti is a sprawling, technicolour temple to textiles. From fine Italian wools and silks, to cheetah-print faux fur, a jaw-dropping 200,000 fabrics line its endless sea of soaring, cracked rooms. Brothers Emidio and Lorenzo Bassetti set up shop in 1954, serving everyone from couture royalty to needle-savvy homemakers.

It's a fabulously atmospheric place, caught in a retro time warp of linoleum floors and wizened old men pushing cart after cart of rare and luscious threads.

I found the listing above on the Lonely Planet Web site before we left for the trip. We were in the neighborhood one day so we searched for the store and found it. This place was fabric paradise - it was a maze of rooms with different types of fabrics. We were there just before 1 pm when they close for lunch so we didn't have a lot of time to browse. The people were gracious, pointing us to the room where we'd find fabric for dresses (even though we didn't ask - they just guessed we might be looking for dress fabric). After we went to the end of the store and started back to the front the staff quietly put out the lights of the rooms behind us without making us feel like we'd been imposing on their lunch time. We did, however, get the hint that it was closing time!

John snapped these photos for me as I was too busy being a tourist in the store. You can click on the photos to enlarge them - Enjoy.