Paper Museum in Pescia

The museum is housed in the ancient 'Le Carte' paper mill, a monument of industrial archaeology built in 1712 and enlarged in 1725 by the Ansaldi family. The structure is a representative example of the Genoese-Tuscan paper manufacturing model, strategically located in the center of the 'paper district' along the Pescia stream. The building retains its original 17th and 18th-century plants and equipment, including cross-vaulted ground floors that once housed hydraulic machinery, worker apartments, and drying rooms with characteristic adjustable windows. The facility was restored to maintain its historical integrity while adapting it for museum use, with the first restored wing opened in 2016.

The museum's collection comprises approximately 7,000 pieces dedicated to the technical and artistic aspects of papermaking. Key holdings include a vast array of paper filigree shapes, filigree waxes, punches, metal sheets, and stamps used to create watermarks. The collection also features vintage tools and machinery for handmade paper production, many of which remain in working order. Beyond technical artifacts, the museum displays ancient documents, historic watermarks, and precious artifacts that testify to Pescia's role in European paper production. Notable items include 3D-digitized watermarked moulds featuring portraits of Napoleon and Marie Louise from 1812, and an ex libris by Ettore Serra.

A cornerstone of the museum's holdings is the historical business archive of the Magnani paper mills, one of the most significant in Italy. Donated in 2004 and housed in the museum's first restored wing since 2016, the archive spans over 600 meters of documentation from the 18th century to the early 21st century. It contains personnel documents, company registers, correspondence with international operators, and the writings of Carlo Magnani. This extensive collection allows researchers to reconstruct the historical activity of the paper mill and its entrepreneurial links with industries across Italy and abroad, serving as a vital resource for understanding the region's economic history.

The Pescia Paper Museum holds the distinction of being the first institution in Italy to catalogue paper goods and currently serves as the national 'reference model' for this specific type of heritage. It is a partner in the UNESCO project 'Paper Mills of Europe - From the era of hand-made paper,' linking it with five other historic mills across Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain. The museum is also a key participant in 'La Via della Carta in Tuscany,' a project establishing a network of paper industrial archeology sites. Its work ensures the preservation of both the physical artifacts and the immaterial heritage of papermaking techniques.

In 2018, the museum established 'Impresa Sociale Magnani Pescia Srl' to resume the production of handmade watermarked paper, actively maintaining the living tradition of the craft and generating new employment. The institution is also a pioneer in digital preservation; through the EUreka3D project, it created the first 3D models of fragile watermarked moulds made of bronze, wood, and copper, making them accessible via Europeana. The museum continues to digitize its collections, including the Magnani archive and modern art pieces like those by Eva Marisaldi and Arcangelo Sassolino, which explore themes of recycling and fragility, bridging historical techniques with contemporary artistic expression.