Meanwhile, at the time of the death of Vittorio Emanuele Marzotto (1922), the management passed to his son Gaetano, who initiated a huge development phase on an industrial as well as a social and political level. In particular, in the main plant(11), he doubled the volume of the existing establishment, dividing up the different phases of the complete wool processing cycle into clearly diversified buildings. Furthermore, having resolved a long legal battle with his cousins, he managed to obtain the Spinning Mill at Maglio di Sopra, he then proceeded with the partial restructuring of the combed spinning factory, renovating the canteen and installation areas.
In 1933 all the Marzotto factories together employed 8,500 workers.
During the Second World War, business continued at full speed, thanks to a large part of orders for military clothing.
In 1944, the company carried out its own detailed census of the Valdagno Centrale and Maglio di Sopra estates, which gave evidence in figures of the potential of the wool mill.
Between 1927 and 1946, the great urban(12) development operation of the ‘social town(13)’ was carried out, as commissioned by the orderly mind of the enlightened industrialist Gaetano Marzotto and executed by the modernist architect Francesco Bonfanti with the collaboration of Gino Zardini.
The ‘social town’, with its organised structure, abundance of services(14) and architectural(15) quality deserves to be discussed separately, since it is not to be considered as an appendix to the factory but rather an ‘urban development project’ proposed as a ‘cultural project’, in which planning, economy of scale and technological innovation follow a logic which not only tends to combine with what already exists but also includes the old town centre(16) and the whole area within a new kind of development according to typically industrial concepts and working methods.
In the sixties the Marzotto Wool Mill expanded further with the construction of a plant for the production of plaids and blankets in the nearby Trissino.
Over the last twenty years this important company has continued to become stronger and more competitive and, in 1990, even managed to incorporate the Lanerossi company of Schio, which in the past had been looked upon as a model and often as an antagonist.
Therefore, the history of the Marzotto Wool Mill(17) cannot only be learnt from the abundant publications specialised in this sector, but also from a visit to the ‘social town’, beginning with the large factories in Valdagno Centrale and Maglio di Sopra, still operating, which reveal their long history by their majestic appearance, largely due to the recent enlargement structures in cement, glass and iron.
The old weaving mill(18) (1880-1930) can be seen in Valdagno Centrale; the massive four-storey building constructed using local stone is 308-metre long and 13-metre wide, and has a continuous series of rectangular windows surrounded by terracotta. The characteristically irregular appearance of the façade facing the mountain is caused by the bend of the road. The unusual lofty elegant towers of the thermoelectric power station(19) on the side of the Agno torrent were built between 1929 and 1930 with a clear aesthetic purpose in mind, as demonstrated by the decorative details of the pilaster strips, and lions’ heads symbolising strength.
On the other hand, in Maglio di Sopra(20), the eclectic-rationalistic style of the architect Bonfanti can be recognised in the sections emphasising the new building materials (cement, iron, glass) and the pure geometric shapes, rectangles and circles skilfully placed side by side. The charming small villas for managers and office staff create a surrounding border, while a little further north lies the ‘Margherita Village(21)’, an organised unit which replaced the first settlement of workers’ houses between 1926 and 1927.
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