Textile fibres: silk

Silk is a fibre of animal origin produced by the Bombyxmori Lepidoptera caterpillar, when its starts its metamorphosis into a butterfly. It is one of the oldest fibres and is much appreciated for its beauty and texture. It originated in China around 5,000 years ago, and its cultivation and processes for making silk were kept secret for a long time, although it was soon commercialised and gave its name to the famous Silk Road, which was very important in political-military terms, and along which many other products moved.

Its cultivation spread slowly and reached Europe in the Middle Ages, although nowadays most of the industry is located in Asia (especially China and India), silk is still much appreciated.