Crespi d'Adda: Worker's Village and Cotton Mill

In 1877 Cristoforo Benigno Crespi bought a piece of land on the east side of the Adda river to build a cotton mill and a permission to dig a canal to use the river's water to power the factory's machines.

The first department was the spinning room, completed in 1878, with 300 workers at the machines.

Then, the weaving room, with 300 looms.

In 1892 the worker's village began to form, on Silvio Benigno's (son of Cristoforo) project. It took the name of "Crespi d'Adda" and became an autonomous administrative district.

At the beginning of the XX century, both the mill and the village were expanding. The WWI represented a business opportunity, thanks to the military supplies such as uniforms and canvas. The Crespi Cotton mill acquired other manifactures.

The Fascist period hit hard, because of its restrictive policies about export. In 1935 the cotton mill was put under controlled administration by the IRI.

In the economic boom after the WWII, under the direction of Bruno Canto, the mill seemed to recover, but it was only an illusion. In 1954 the mill was again under controlled administration.

In 1972, the Legler Industry, through two controlled societies, bought the Crespi cotton mill to produce the denim. The entire factory was reconverted and the business took off in spectacular fashion. But, again, it was only a period.

Following the recession of the Legler Industry in late '80s and then the downfall during the '90s, the Crespi cotton mill came to its end at the beginning of the new millennium.