Eserciziario di un campionario, the story of a Prato textile technician | Piero Fortunato Sanesi

This Friday, January 16 at 18:30, we will host a special project by CUT Circuito Urbano Temporaneo, part of the series “Archivi domestici | documentare il quotidiano.”

Originating from a weaving exercise notebook preserved for over fifty years, the Domestic Archive of textile technician Piero Sanesi (b. 1939) unfolds into a wider narrative of Prato’s textile district. Rediscovered by his daughter Elena, this family object becomes the starting point for retracing Sanesi’s studies at the ITS Tullio Buzzi, his work in local mills, and the story of a city in transformation—where domestic looms and agricultural life slowly gave way to industrial production.
Through oral history, archival materials, photographs, and dedicated audio recordings, the project interweaves personal memory with collective heritage. The narrative expands through podcasts and theatrical walks created with Spazio Teatrale all’Incontro, retracing Sanesi’s journey from a mezzadri family to a key role in Prato’s textile world.

For this presentation at Lottozero, a selection of family materials and publications on the Prato textile district will be displayed inside an archival cabinet—a format chosen by CUT for their ongoing project “Archivi domestici | documentare il quotidiano,” which aims to share private material and immaterial heritage through contemporary artistic and multimedia practices, making otherwise inaccessible domestic archives newly available to the public.

The work on the Sanesi Archive is the result of a multidisciplinary team:
Research: Stefania Rinaldi
Photography: Simone Ridi
Audio + Podcasts: Viola Pierozzi & Simone Cariota
Theatrical walks: Massimo Bonechi, Francesco Dendi & Tommaso Carovani