Crespi d'Adda
Encyclopedia
Crespi d'Adda is a historical settlement in Capriate San Gervasio
, Lombardy
, northern Italy
. It is an outstanding example of the 19th and early 20th-century "company towns"
built in Europe and North America by enlightened industrialists to meet the workers' needs. The site is still intact and is partly used for industrial purposes, although changing economic and social conditions now threaten its survival. Since 1995 it has been on UNESCO
's list of World Heritage Sites.
In 1869 Cristoforo Benigno Crespi, a textile manufacturer from Busto Arsizio
(Varese)
, bought the 1 km valley between the rivers Brembo
and Adda
, to the south of Capriate
, with the intention of installing a cotton mill
on the banks of the Adda
.
Cristoforo Crespi introduced the most modern spinning, weaving and finishing processes in his Cotton Mill
. The Hydroelectric power plant in Trezzo
, on the Adda river
just a few Km upwards, was built up around 1906 for the manufacturer Cristoforo Benigno Crespi. The settlement which was built in 1878 next to the cotton-mill was a village, a residential area provided with social services such as a clinic, a school building
, a theatre
, a cemetery
, a wash-house and a church.
Both the town and the factory were illuminated thanks to electric light. The village of Crespi d'Adda was the first village in Italy
to have modern public lighting. The workers houses, of English
inspiration, are lined up in order along parallel roads to the East of the factory
. A tree-lined avenue separates the production zone from the houses, overlooking a chequer-board road plan.
The whole architecture
and town planning (except the first spinning department, created by engineer
Angelo Colla), was submitted to the architect
Ernesto Pirovano. For about fifty years Pirovano, helped by the engineer
Pietro Brunati, ran the construction of the village.
In 1889 the son of Cristoforo, Silvio, started work in the factory
as a director, after spending time in Oldham, England
. He turned away from the large multiple-occupancy blocks in favour of the single-family house, with its own garden, which he saw as conducive to harmony
and a defence against industrial
strife. He put this policy into practice in 1892 and the years that followed, with success, since there was no strike
or other form of social disorder for the fifty years of Crespi management.
The great depression of 1929 and the harsh fascist
fiscal policy resulted in the Crespi family being obliged to sell the entire town to STI, the Italian textile enterprise, which transferred it to the Rossarl e Varzi company in 1970. It then passed to the Legler company, which sold off most of the houses. It was last in the hands of the Polli industrial group, which employed some 600 people, as compared with the 3200 employed during the years of maximum activity.
Today the village is inhabited by a community largely descended from the original workers. The factory stopped production only in 2004, its field of activity throughout its working life having been cotton textile production
.
Capriate San Gervasio
Capriate San Gervasio is a comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy.It is situated on the southern tip of the so-called Bergamasca Island, a territory delimited by the rivers Adda and Brembo. It includes three frazioni at slightly different altitudes, San Gervasio d'Adda , Capriate...
, Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is an outstanding example of the 19th and early 20th-century "company towns"
Model village
A model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...
built in Europe and North America by enlightened industrialists to meet the workers' needs. The site is still intact and is partly used for industrial purposes, although changing economic and social conditions now threaten its survival. Since 1995 it has been on UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's list of World Heritage Sites.
Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy, 25 km north of Milan in the province of Varese.The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce.-History:...
(Varese)
Province of Varese
The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....
, bought the 1 km valley between the rivers Brembo
Brembo River
The Brembo, in Lombard Brèmb o Brèmp, is a 74 km Italian river, a left tributary of the Adda, which runs entirely within the Province of Bergamo in the Lombardy Region....
and Adda
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
, to the south of Capriate
Capriate San Gervasio
Capriate San Gervasio is a comune in the province of Bergamo, in Lombardy, Italy.It is situated on the southern tip of the so-called Bergamasca Island, a territory delimited by the rivers Adda and Brembo. It includes three frazioni at slightly different altitudes, San Gervasio d'Adda , Capriate...
, with the intention of installing a cotton mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
on the banks of the Adda
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
.
Cristoforo Crespi introduced the most modern spinning, weaving and finishing processes in his Cotton Mill
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
. The Hydroelectric power plant in Trezzo
Trezzo sull'Adda
Trezzo sull'Adda is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan on the Adda River.The Naviglio Martesana canal starts from the Adda in Trezzo's territory....
, on the Adda river
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
just a few Km upwards, was built up around 1906 for the manufacturer Cristoforo Benigno Crespi. The settlement which was built in 1878 next to the cotton-mill was a village, a residential area provided with social services such as a clinic, a school building
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, a cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, a wash-house and a church.
Both the town and the factory were illuminated thanks to electric light. The village of Crespi d'Adda was the first village in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to have modern public lighting. The workers houses, of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
inspiration, are lined up in order along parallel roads to the East of the factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
. A tree-lined avenue separates the production zone from the houses, overlooking a chequer-board road plan.
The whole architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and town planning (except the first spinning department, created by engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Angelo Colla), was submitted to the architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Ernesto Pirovano. For about fifty years Pirovano, helped by the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Pietro Brunati, ran the construction of the village.
In 1889 the son of Cristoforo, Silvio, started work in the factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
as a director, after spending time in Oldham, England
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
. He turned away from the large multiple-occupancy blocks in favour of the single-family house, with its own garden, which he saw as conducive to harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and a defence against industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
strife. He put this policy into practice in 1892 and the years that followed, with success, since there was no strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
or other form of social disorder for the fifty years of Crespi management.
The great depression of 1929 and the harsh fascist
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
fiscal policy resulted in the Crespi family being obliged to sell the entire town to STI, the Italian textile enterprise, which transferred it to the Rossarl e Varzi company in 1970. It then passed to the Legler company, which sold off most of the houses. It was last in the hands of the Polli industrial group, which employed some 600 people, as compared with the 3200 employed during the years of maximum activity.
Today the village is inhabited by a community largely descended from the original workers. The factory stopped production only in 2004, its field of activity throughout its working life having been cotton textile production
Cotton mill
A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....
.
See also
- Model villageModel villageA model village is a type of mostly self-contained community, in most cases built from the late eighteenth century onwards by industrialists to house their workers...
- Derwent Valley MillsDerwent Valley MillsDerwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for...
, a similar World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, England whose first cotton mill was built in 1771.
External links
- Villaggio Crespi (Crespi Workers' Village)
- Crespi d'Adda
- Associazione Culturale Nema (lit. Nema Cultural Association)