The Rossi Works in Piovene Rocchette constitute a colossal event in the industrial development of the area, which was the result of a policy of decentralisation initiated in 1869(1) by Alessandro Rossi above all to guarantee water supply and the employment of local labour.

The ‘Rocchette 1(2)’ plant was built in 1869 to hold 12000 spindles in order to carry out the spinning and weaving processes for combed wool, and was located on the right bank of the Astico torrent which guaranteed a greater capacity of water than the Leogra.
The building which is documented by detailed drawings(3) and reports kept at the Lanerossi Historical Records office, presently Marzotto, still exists(4) today in spite of the damage it suffered during both world wars, and it can be glimpsed in the valley excavated by the Astico, either when going down towards Cogollo, before crossing the Pilo Bridge, or from above the viaduct on the secondary road to Arsiero. It represents the typical industrial layout of the second half of the nineteenth century with a series of sawtooth-roof covered spans, which rise in steps following the difference in ground level.

The difficulty of the construction made it necessary to assign the work to the engineer Ernesto Stamm from Mulhouse who, following several studies, decided to locate the building on the bed of the torrent, over an area of more than 6,000 sq m, accessible by means of a very steep winding road directly connected with the entrance to the factory courtyard.

The plant, celebrated by the publications of the time as an innovation in industrial construction, was built according to the French à rez de chaussée model, characterised by the main body of the building being developed in width on a single floor to exploit the space as much as possible, while the basement areas were used as storage rooms. The functionality and strength of the whole factory were guaranteed by levelling and reinforcement work, including an escarpment laid in the torrent and bearing walls for a total of 1148 cubic metres. The building site which required 500 men was flanked by the hydraulic installation directed by the engineer Angelo Milesi, who built a dam on the torrent to create a six-metre fall in order to obtain 2500 HP motive power.

The machines for the halls were purchased in Belgium (for carding) and in France (for spinning).

The construction still displays the large hall(5) with 12 rows of cast-iron columns and the sawtooth roofs oriented towards the north in order to make the most of the daylight; the Lanerossi production was transferred to the Works in Dueville at the beginning of the 20th century, since then it has recently been re-used by various craftsmen.

The ‘Rocchette 2(6)’ plant still exists(7). It was built in 1871 on the left bank of the Astico a little further south of the previous factory, on the boundary of the built-up area of Cogollo, and it had a capacity of 102 looms for worsted weaving. This is where high quality wool such as merino and cashmere were woven. In spite of war damage, the industrial architecture displays the spaciousness of the several sawtooth-roof(8) covered spans as well as the structure of the installation for the exploitation of water energy from the torrent.

The ‘Rocchette 3(9)’ plant, which was also intended for worsted weaving, was in fact built in 1886, exactly north of the built-up area of Rocchette, having a horizontal layout and a close sequence of sheds illuminated by sawtooth roofs. The entire complex was demolished in 1973 to leave space for a new building(10) in reinforced concrete according to the wishes of Lanerossi, who also had the most noble part of the industrial village demolished, meaning the Manager’s villa with its romantic park, large greenhouse, small church, and the office staff’s terraced houses and gardens.