The Rubelli historical archive, housed in Ca' Pisani Rubelli in Venice, is a collection of over 7000 textile records which can be dated from the end of the fifteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century. The collection was begun in the second half of the nineteenth century, as the company was being set up and at a time when Venice was undergoing a cultural and economic recovery aimed at reviving traditional crafts, fully in line with the eclectic and revivalist trend in Europe.

For more than one hundred years the collection expanded considerably with the addition of important textile documentation and includes today not only European fabrics but also specimens from the East, Africa and the Americas. The collection also carefully conserves examples from original and historic Rubelli production, including the velvet made for the Italian royal family in the early twentieth century and a number of fabrics produced through a creative partnership with famous artists, architects and designers such as Vittorio Zecchin, Guido Cadorin, Giò Ponti, Alfredo Carnelutti and the well-known fashion designer Roberta di Camerino.

The fabrics in the Rubelli archive represent in fact a matchless source of creative ideas for the new collections, also offering an excellent starting point for the creation of exclusive fabrics according to specific customer requirements. The function of the archive as an essential aid is also seen in the preliminary research that precedes reconstruction of specimens of ancient textiles that once belonged to historical residences, embassies, museums and cultural institutions in all corners of the world.