A highly unusual tour takes you from the exhibition rooms proper to lavishly-stocked storerooms which house an array of rare and precious fabrics as well as collections of articles that are a special feature of this museum – for example, sixteenth-century calcagnini, the amazingly high wedge-soled shoes that were a favourite with both courtesans and noblewomen.
One not only has the chance to explore a whole range pieces of that make up the history of textiles and costume – Coptic articles dating from the early centuries AD, Renaissance brocades and lace, famous examples of twentieth-century fashion design – but one also gets some idea of the backstage workings of a museum.