Pistoia's Embroidery Museum is located inside Palazzo Rospigliosi and houses a collection of decorated textiles, examples of an art in which Pistoia has always been able to consider itself as a centre of excellence.

The fortune of Pistoia in the in bianco and sul bianco fields of embroidery began in the 19th century as a result of an ever-increasing demand for linen and household commodities enriched with complex needlework, emphasising their worth and the social standing of their owners.

Documentation, sources and conserved evidence (from the 17th and 18th centuries) confirm a rich seam of embroidering activity in the city, where first the cloistered monasteries and convents and later girls' finishing schools ensured the survival of the uses, customs, styles and techniques 'of the needle', in the name of profane taste and ecclesiastical splendour.