Here is the story of the Tannery F., where leather was processed, and its death.
This Tannery is located in one of the most industrialized and productive areas of northern Italy.
It was one of the largest and most important companies in its area, which involved the local community by giving jobs to many people.
Even after its abandonment it has remained a symbol of its city, and has left its mark as a testimony to its great heritage of industrial architecture.
As we said, Tannery F. is one of the historic companies of the town and its surface of about 15,000 square meters is mainly occupied by huts, now disused and surrounded by vegetation.
In the past, however, this tannery was not always intended for the processing of leathers, but was initially born as a mill for the processing of cereals.
The construction of the mill by the F. family (from which the tannery took its name) dates back to 1802.
Over the years, the family slowly dedicated itself to the processing of chestnut husk for the coloring and treatment of the leather, always inside the mill.
In 1850, they discovered that leather processing was much more profitable than flour, and they decided to definitively convert the mill into a tannery.
In 1925, the Tannery F. was founded.
As with other abandoned places, this tannery also played its role during the Second World War.
From a tannery it became an arms factory, converting its production, thus becoming part of the companies for military supplies of the Royal Navy.
Finally the war ended, it returned to being a tannery, but it had a strong period of crisis, which ended in 1949.
Thanks to the production and retail sale of clothing products, Tannery F. expanded by opening warehouses and shops in many Italian cities.
The work was increasing and the business was going very well, so much so that in 1968 more than 200 people worked there.
In 2000, however, things changed for the Tannery F.
The activities of the tannery following an inspection were found to be highly polluting and had poisoned the soil with chromium, heavy hydrocarbons, aniline, mercury.
In 2007 the definitive closure was decided and a reclamation of the entire area was planned, which however never took place.
Now the Tannery F. remains silently abandoned with all its leathers ready to be processed.
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