Crespi d'Adda is a village in northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and hamlet (''
frazione
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...
'') of
Capriate San Gervasio, a municipality in the
province of Bergamo
The province of Bergamo (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bergamo. The province has a population of 1,103,768 (2023), an area of , and contains 242 ''comune, comuni'' (municipali ...
,
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
. It is a historic settlement and 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
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's list of
World Heritage Sites
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
.
History
19th century
In 1869
Cristoforo Benigno Crespi, a textile manufacturer from
Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...
(Varese), bought the valley between the rivers
Brembo
Brembo N.V. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive parts that most notably produces braking systems, for high-performance cars and for the sim racing series Gran Turismo. Its operational head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy, while Amst ...
and
Adda, to the south of
Capriate, with the intention of installing a
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven ...
on the banks of the Adda.
[Info at db.formez.it]
Cristoforo Crespi introduced the most modern spinning, weaving and finishing processes in his
Cotton Mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Although some were driven ...
.
[Value And History Of The Village Of Crespi D'Adda]
The hydroelectric power plant in
Trezzo, on the Adda river just a few kilometers 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
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
, a
cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...
, a wash-house and a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
.
Both the town and the factory were illuminated thanks to electric light.
[ Crespi d'Adda]
/ref> The village of Crespi d'Adda was the first village in Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
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 factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
. A tree-lined avenue separates the production zone from the houses, overlooking a chequer-board road plan. The whole architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
and town planning (except the first spinning department, created by engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
Angelo Colla), was submitted to the architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Ernesto Pirovano. For about fifty years Pirovano, helped by the engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
Pietro Brunati, ran the construction of the village. model shops toy-like constructions / miniatures had been made to educate and exemplify new trends in social thinking and scientific advances to the inhabitants in the form of suitcases that contained them.
In 1889 the son of Cristoforo, Silvio Benigno Crespi, started work in the factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...
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
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
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
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
or other forms of social disorder for the fifty years of Crespi management.
20th century
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
of 1929 and the harsh fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
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.
In October 2013, it was announced that Antonio Percassi was purchasing Crespi d'Adda in order to convert it into the headquarters for the Percassi Business group as well as the headquarters for the new Antonio Percassi Family Foundation.
]
Geography
The village is located by the eastern shore of the river Adda, next to the provincial borders of Bergamo
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
with Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, south of Capriate San Gervasio. Other nearest settlements are Trezzo sull'Adda, Brembate, Vaprio d'Adda and Canonica d'Adda. It is from Bergamo
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
and its airport, from Monza
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
and from Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
. Nearest motorway exit, "Capriate", is north and is part of the A4 motorway Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
-Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
.
Monuments and Places of Interest
Religious Architecture
The parish church was built starting from 1891 under the direction of the engineer Pietro Brunati and it was opened in November 1893 with the inauguration by the bishop Gaetano Camillo Guindani. The church is the reconstruction of the Marian shrine in Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...
. The church was dedicated to S.Maria dell'Aiuto and dates back to 1517. The designer is unknown, but some important architects and sculptors, such as Lonati and Tommaso Rodari, worked on it. This church represents the ideal link between the hometown of the Crespi family, Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...
, and the village, which represented the best expression of the textile industrial sector.
The parish church in Crespi d'Adda has a square plan with a base made up with Adda strain and it ends with a large octagonal dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
externally surrounded by a white marble loggia. Inside there are a lot of fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
s and canvas directly commissioned by Cristoforo Crespi.
Still today, the church is used by the local population for ordinary religious rites.
The cemetery
The works for the construction of the cemetery started in 1905 commissioned by Cristoforo Crespi and it was ready in November 1908. The cemetery is a monumental construction where the mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
, dedicated to the Crespi family, is the main core. In the mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
there are the graves of the members of the family.
The castle
The castle in Crespi was built between 1893 and 1894. The castle was the manor house of the family and its style is typical of the Medieval architecture of the XII century. The architect was Ernesto Pirovano.
The manor house was the summer residence of the family.
At the end of 1960, the municipality of Capriate San Gervasio got the property of the building. From 1968 to 1981 it became the secondary school of the village and afterwards a professional institute. In 1977 the building was sold to some private buyers. All these different usages implied some important changes in the architectural structure and in the decorative styles.
Today, the building has been declared real estate of historical interest.
The factory and the houses
The factory started its activity in July 1878 and its production was totally dedicated to the cotton processing and the production of textiles. With Silvio Crespi there was an enlargement of the factory, thanks to the project made by Pietro Brunati, and there was a new inauguration in 1894 at the presence of Queen Margherita. The new productive lines began to work systematically in 1896. This factory was the centre of the village and all the inhabitants worked there. The factory was the working core of the village and the life of the workers depended on the factory production. Every person in the village had his own house and they were all the same, except for the managers, the doctor and the priest who had more luxurious ones. Initially, in the project of Cristoforo Crespi, there was no idea of a hierarchy, but the situation developed because the social environment of the time changed and showed different levels of wealth. Throughout its history, the factory underwent several structural changes in order to adjust to changes in industrial production and manufacturing of textile.
In 1973 Legler, a textile company, bought the factory and started to work until 2003, when the factory closed because of bankruptcy.
Today the factory is an open air museum of industrial archeology.
Gallery
See also
*Model village
A model village is a mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. "Model" implies an ideal to which other developments could aspire. Although the villages ...
*Derwent Valley Mills
Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', fact ...
, a similar World Heritage Site in Derbyshire, England whose first cotton mill was built in 1771.
References
External links
Crespi d'Adda website
Villaggio Crespi
(Crespi Workers' Village)
Crespi d'Adda UNESCO - The official website
Official Unesco Photo gallery
{{Authority control
Frazioni of the Province of Bergamo
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Populated places established in 1878
Company towns
Cotton mills
Crespi family