ada civitani

A bridge between memory and the future

In Seveso, in the heart of Brianza, there is a charming, magical place, which preserves the memory of an important part of our community’s history.

It is via Zeuner, 5: the old industrial area at a walking distance from the railway station, where the old weaving factory of the Schwarzembach brothers once stood.

Here, from 1884 until half 1900, hundreds of people, mostly women, were engaged in the production of fine fabrics, which were exported all around the world.

The Factory was organized like a small village, with various services inside: some buildings hosted the production departments and all around there were workers’ and employees’ houses, including dormitories for those who lived far away and couldn’t go home until friday night. For Workers’ and employees’ children, the Factory hold a School, hosted in a beautiful building that nowadays is a Music and Performing Arts Academia.

Among the production departments, the one facing the road and the railway was dedicated to the preparation of fabric samples. Passing by, some elders of Seveso still remember the voices of women and girls singing, while working, the typical songs in the Brianza dialect.

Since the Factory closed, the area hosts services and various craft activities, which still contribute to the local economy.

As a trace of the glorious history of Schwarzembach, there is the old factory outlet, now transformed into the shop of Corrado Tessuti, and the bronze bust of Federico Zeuner, forged at the request of the factory workers in honor of the worthy Director.

New Fairy’s Factory is located in the heart of the old factory, next to the old chimney.

It is a unique and symbolic place, where every stone, every brick, every cast iron column that supports the wooden beam ceilings, tells a story that deserves to be handed down. Entire generations of our people have passed through it and here put roots.

I confess, thinking about all this, every time I cross the gate at via Zeuner 5, I feel excited and moved.

About forty years ago, when my mother was a worker in packaging factory hosted in this same place. I still have in my heart the images, the colors, the smells of when, little more than a child, I came to visit her.

Years go by, buildings get old… and of course, they need some maintenance. But life flows through them, it doesn’t stop, it renews itself. Our way, we try to help her out.