Interactive Tools for the Visualization of Tangible and Intangible Silk Heritage Emerging from an Interdisciplinary Work.

Silk is a unique example of heritage where memory, identity, creativity and knowledge can be found in just one piece. It is a multifaceted, living heritage, as it consists of more than the fabrics themselves, but also the techniques associated with them, historical buildings, trades, festivities, etc. Therefore, designers, weavers, painters, sellers and users are involved in it. However, it is also a fragile heritage, alive in the few industries that still weave with historical looms. Additionally, the COVID19 pandemic has put the entire artisanal and small industrial sector of European silk in risk of disappearing. In this, paper we show some results of the SILKNOW project, whose main objective is to improves the understanding, conservation, and dissemination of European silk heritage. To that aim, we provide a variety of interactive tools and computational technologies, which have been designed and developed in close collaboration among experts in ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and SSH (Social Sciences and Humanities). We focus the paper in addressing the interdisciplinary work carried out in the project to produce two interactive tools: Virtual Loom and STMaps. Results show that this way of working has been essential to produce such outcomes.