The museum was created in 1984 in the former Dominican convent of San Domenico, in partnership with Cartiere Miliani, the papermaking manufactory founded in 1782 by Pietro Miliani together with the Fabriano nobleman Antonio Vallemani. The route traces Fabriano's papermaking tradition, a city that has passed down the art of the watermark since the thirteenth century, with the Zonghi room dedicated to the evolution of artistic watermarks. The visit includes a live demonstration of hand papermaking using the old fulling mill, a look at historic moulds and watermarked papers, and an audiovisual section on the history of Fabriano paper.