Museum of Industrial Heritage

A walk through the Certosa, Bologna’s monumental cemetery, is also a way to go over the city’s economic history of the last two centuries. The visitor is guided by the iconography of the tombs of the most noticeable personalities in the local manufacturing context. In these tombs the pride in professional life-story  is expressed by an unusual iconography, deeply influenced by the industrial world.

In 2012 A.L.I.A.V.  (the Association that gathers the holders of the diploma of the Aldini-Valeriani Institute) will be 100 years old. It is a very important birthday which bears witness to the awareness of the role played by the school. The members of the Association share the pride in belonging to a course of study which contributed widely to the economic development of the district and wish that such a role will be played by the school also in the future. This desire for continuity certainly has a self-celebrating constituent but also shows the will to face possible challenges to come.

The article  resumes some of the subjects of a research carried out in 2011 by the Industrial Heritage Museum in  agreement with S.A.B. (Bologna Airport Society),  intending to reconstruct the history of the city airports since the early 20th century on the occasion of the 80th  anniversary of  Borgo Panigale airport. A special attention is paid to the main events concerning the airport in the years 1920-1950.

Can the Cobianchi public baths be regarded as cultural assets and a common heritage to be defended and preserved? Public art can act effectively on social issues by means of installations and collective actions, suggesting and setting off a change in both mentality and cultural attitude and thus becoming an active part inside cities and their landscapes.

A touristic and cultural itinerary will connect the towns of Biella and Borgosesia following the course of the “Wool route”, as it was already called in the late 19th century. This project will open new prospects for the use and enhancement of the building that housed the Zignoni wool mill since 1877.

Instrumental mechanics  deals with the construction of machines for manufacturing industries. It holds a prominent position in the Italian industrial system for both its significant presence on the international market and its economical importance. The article synthetizes the author’s long-term research and presents observations on the dynamics of development and innovation which are typical of this field, in a strict relationship with manufacturing sections.

In 1911 the Cobianchi public baths and conveniences were established in Bologna, soon followed by a series of similar baths all over Italy, run by the family business of Cleopatro Cobianchi, a Bolognese entrepreneur. The author started a research on these buildings within the workshop with Bernardo Giorgi and Anna Rispoli that took place in October 2008 at GAP (Young People for Public Art) organized by the Office for the Promotion of Young Artists of the Municipality of Bologna.

After 1850 several foundry entrepreneurs from France, England, Switzerland and Germany were attracted by the Italian market’s development potential and decided to move part of their activities and invest capital in Italy. These new factories were characterized by the presence of highly qualified technicians, often chosen abroad by entrepreneurs, and by the opening of artistic sections in cast-iron foundries, which produced manufactured articles for city decoration and metal structures for covered markets, glasshouses, gazebos and booths.