Capriate San Gervasio, Italy Location and site - In 1875
Cristoforo Benigno Crespi, a textile manufacturer, purchased 1
sq.km. of land on the Adda River to construct a cotton mill and
multi-family dwellings for workers. - In 1889, Silvio Benigno,
his son and successor, reoriented and pursued his father's
project. In order to ensure the productivity and contentment of
the workers, he examined workers' housing in Germany and
England, then built individual homes with flower and vegetable
gardens. He also constructed public buildings, including a
school, a community clinic, a theatre, a cooperative, a sports
centre, a hydro-electric plant and other anemities. - To this
ensemble, he added three symbolic monuments: a church, a castle
and a mausoleum for the village's founding family. - From the
time of its establishment, the village of Crespi d'Adda
maintained its autonomy. The residential quarter, however, never
expanded as far as the Brembo River, as had been planned. - The
1929 stock market crash and the economi