From the 1880s until the late 60s Bormida valley, an inner Apennine mountain valley beyond coastal town of Savona in Liguria (North-West of Italy), experienced a substantial growth. This was triggered by the construction of the railway Torino-Savona, the implantation of SIPE chemical production (linked to war supply), the presence of nationwide companies and an undoubtedly ingenious cableway for movement of coal from Savona docks to the heart of the valley. Among the structures built by SIPE in the early decades of XXth century, some, as SIPE’s power plants and “Palazzo Rosso”, could be considered between the most valuable examples of Ligurian industrial architecture. This contribution is devoted to present some of these interesting buildings in the light of the recently rediscovered original projects. These would allow to credit to the Milanese architect Cesare Mazzocchi some buildings for which scholars have suggested the influence of Moretti or Portaluppi. In addition the paper aims, inside a broader project for the circulation of the culture of ligurian industrial heritage, to lay foundations for the protection of these landmark, both historical and geographical, of Bormida valley.
Architettura industriale in valle Bormida: la SIPE e l’architetto Cesare Mazzocchi
MANZINI, Alberto
2014-01-01
Abstract
From the 1880s until the late 60s Bormida valley, an inner Apennine mountain valley beyond coastal town of Savona in Liguria (North-West of Italy), experienced a substantial growth. This was triggered by the construction of the railway Torino-Savona, the implantation of SIPE chemical production (linked to war supply), the presence of nationwide companies and an undoubtedly ingenious cableway for movement of coal from Savona docks to the heart of the valley. Among the structures built by SIPE in the early decades of XXth century, some, as SIPE’s power plants and “Palazzo Rosso”, could be considered between the most valuable examples of Ligurian industrial architecture. This contribution is devoted to present some of these interesting buildings in the light of the recently rediscovered original projects. These would allow to credit to the Milanese architect Cesare Mazzocchi some buildings for which scholars have suggested the influence of Moretti or Portaluppi. In addition the paper aims, inside a broader project for the circulation of the culture of ligurian industrial heritage, to lay foundations for the protection of these landmark, both historical and geographical, of Bormida valley.
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