Founded in 1961, this institute, devoted to scientific research into textiles, contains objects from Europe and the Middle East dating from Antiquity to the Renaissance: Neolithic pottery, Byzantine ceramics, Romanesque capitals, Asian silk, painting, sculpture, ancient textiles from Europe, the Mediterranean basin and Asia along the Silk Road. The painting room features work by Fra Angelico, Van der Weyden, Botticelli and Lorenzetti. Stunning collection in the library.