The Textile Museum is the largest cultural center in Italy dedicated to the enhancement of ancient and contemporary art and textile production . The Museum represents the historical memory and cultural interface of the Prato district, which since the Middle Ages has been identified with the production of fabrics and which today has over 7,000 companies active in this sector.

The Museum was founded in 1975 within the "Tullio Buzzi" Technical Industrial Textile Institute, thanks to an initial donation of about 600 ancient textile fragments, which is added to the testimonies collected over the years by the school professors for consultation and study by students. Over the years, the collections have seen a significant increase thanks to the contribution of the Istituto Buzzi Alumni Association and other important city institutions, such as the Municipality of Prato, Cariprato, the Prato Industrial Union.

In 1997 the Museum was temporarily located in the Palazzo Comunale and in this period the collection of contemporary fabrics was born, which grew with the seasonal fashion trends thanks to the relationship with the PratoTrade association, a selection of textile manufacturers of fabrics for clothing. In 2003 the definitive headquarters were inaugurated in the restored rooms of the former Campolmi factory, a precious testimony of industrial archeology located within the fourteenth-century walls of the city.

Since 2012 the Museum has obtained the recognition of the qualification of "museum of regional importance" pursuant to articles 20 and 21 of Regional Law no. 21 of 25 February 2010.