Weaving Europe's silk heritage into a vibrant cultural tapestry, preserving tradition, and shaping a united silk-linked European identity.

The ARACNE project stands as a guardian of Europe's silk heritage, dedicated to safeguarding, revitalizing, and celebrating this cultural treasure. It's a journey back in time that seeks to breathe new life into age-old skills, weaving together a distinctive European identity linked by silk. Looking ahead, it envisions a grand European Silk Route, connecting the past and present along the intricate pathways of silk production and trade, crafting a cultural tapestry that unites our continent.
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We aim to

Revive silk production by creating a resilient and innovative European silk ecosystem. The European Silk Route will connect activities among European cities and regions, enhance culture preservation, protection, and drive innovation in production and trade.
Elevate the skills and competitiveness of Europe's silk-related Cultural and Creative Industries, involving the renewal and collaborative development of silk-centered cultural products, processes, and innovative services, uniquely tailored to each locale.

Specific objectives

ARACNE aims to create a wide and well- connected Silk Innovation Ecosystem

This initiative embarks on a journey that traces the historical paths taken by explorers like Marco Polo to the East and delves into the intricate web of silk production and trade that unfolded in Europe over the centuries. It seeks to cultivate an innovation ecosystem—a dynamic network uniting academia, industry, public sectors, and civil society, employing a multi-level, systemic, and bottom-up approach to drive research, innovation, and knowledge.

ARACNE aims to revive the silk industry in Europe by creating a unique cultural and artistic market. It aims to preserve traditional skills and knowledge of the silk production. While the "Silk Road" is often associated with Asia, this initiative recognizes its historical significance in the European silk-related development and know-how. To achieve this, the project plans to reconstruct a modern Silk Route across European countries, emphasizing traditions, architecture, and both tangible and intangible heritage, to demonstrate that silk, as a cultural legacy, can boost the European economy and enrich society.

The ambition of ARACNE will be achieved by setting specific, realistic and time-bound objectives.

01
Enhancement of knowledge and memory for the renaissance of a European Silk Innovation Ecosystem.
02
Co-creation of human-centred and place specific creative silk-based solutions leveraging on digital technologies.
03
Implementation of innovative strategies, governance and financing models for the involved organisations.
04
Support the establishment of a European Silk Route, based on the tangible and intangible silk cultural heritage.
05
Raise awareness of ARACNE results, impacts and expectation for the constitution of a European Silk Route.
06
Enhance the European cultural identity and strengthen European competitiveness for a resilient society.
07
Contribution to the European Green Deal, the New European Bauhaus and the Sustainable Development Goals.
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