Silk silk during the Medieval age. The first center to introduce silk production to Italy was the city of Catanzaro during the 11th century in the region of Calabria. The silk of Catanzaro supplied almost all of Europe and was sold in a large market fair in the port of Reggio Calabria, to Spanish, Venetian, Genovese and Dutch merchants. Catanzaro became the lace capital of the world with a large silkworm breeding facility that produced all the laces and linens used in the Vatican. The city was world-famous for its fine fabrication of silks, velvets, damasks and brocades. Another notable center
Lehigh Valley Silk Mills 1883. By 1900, there were twenty-three silk establishments in the Lehigh Valley, making it and Pennsylvania the world's second-largest producer of silk, second only to New Jersey. As many as 224 mills produced silk in the Lehigh Valley between 1881 and 1989. The silk industry peaked in the late 1920s. The industry was Allentown's largest employer during this time. In 1928, the peak production year, 106 mills operated simultaneously in the Lehigh Valley. The Silk industry was drawn to the Lehigh Valley for its access to water, power and labor. The spinning machines in the mills required constant tending, and