A real model of an ideal town
The village of Crespi d’Adda is one of the best preserved example of the “worker’s towns” in Italy. The town was founded in 1878 by the cotton manufacturer Cristoforo Benigno Crespi. The idea was that of giving to all employees a small villa, with a garden and and common services like public lavatory, a theatre, a hospital church, school, community center and cemetery.
The Crespi family was obliged to sell the factory and the town during the economic crisis in 1929. The urban layout of Crespi d’Adda and its architectural appearance are still unchanged. In 1995 UNESCO included Crespi d’Adda in its List of World Heritage Sites, in that it is an “exceptional example of the phenomenon of workers’ villages, the most complete and best preserved in Southern Europe”.
