From July 3 to September 21, 2025, the Prato Textile Museum pays tribute to the figure of Loriano Bertini (Prato, 1930 - 2019), entrepreneur and collector of ancient and contemporary artworks. Bertini, with a generous donation of over 600 ancient textiles, in 1975 allowed the birth of the Textile Museum, which this year celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.

Created in collaboration with the National Central Library of Florence, the exhibition highlights Bertini's main collecting interests and his vocation to share them through prestigious donations: not only ancient textiles, but also Renaissance maiolica, rare art editions, and illustrated books by famous 20th-century artists, acquired by the National Central Library of Florence, which today constitute one of the most relevant heritages internationally.

Reluctant to any form of recognition, Loriano Bertini loved to paraphrase the famous phrase by Gabriele d'Annunzio "I have what I have donated" in the motto "I am what I have donated," referring to the joy of giving. Many high-profile museums and cultural institutions have welcomed Bertini's donations, including the Uffizi Drawings and Prints Cabinet, the Museum of Palazzo Davanzati, the Bargello Museum, the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, and the Montelupo Ceramics Museum.

The collection dedicated to illustrated books by international artists of the 20th century was extraordinary, an expression of a vocation as a careful bibliophile and admirer of graphic design and modern art. Bertini began collecting them in the early seventies. Over thirty years, he gathered about 4,500 artist books and art editions, which were acquired in 2000 by the then Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and later transferred to the National Central Library of Florence.

For the first time in Prato, 22 Italian and European artist books will be exhibited to the public, starting from Marinetti's Futurism, passing through Picasso, Matisse, Mirò, Dalì, Duchamp, up to the artistic trends of the second half of the 20th century with Capogrossi, Fontana, and Isgrò.