Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian
“…on this day, June 1, 1906, I began to work at the Testi establishment…” (from the hand written diary of Angiolo Giannelli).
The Testi Cement plant opened in 1905, thus making it among the oldest industrial fonts of cement making in Italy. The plant was created thanks to a project by the Engineer, Emilio Speranza between 1904 and 1905 and began to operate with the official name of “Società Calci e Cementi di Testi” (The Testi Calcium and Cement Company).
On December 20,1933, it became the “Società Anonima Centrale Cementerie Italiane S.A.C.C.I. (The Anonymous Center of Italian Cement Companies), which took control starting on November 15,1934.
The Testi factory produced an important resource for the territory of Chianti fiorentino. Where once rose a ….”vast building with high chimneys….” you could hear ”…the sound of pickaxes which ripped treasures from the mountain…” (from “L’ora di Barabba”, by Domenico Giuliotti, 1919).
The establishment had its first big transformation in the 1970’s when a modern industrial complex began operation and gave quality work to hundreds of people. The recent extreme building crisis shook the company by its foundation. On July 29, 2016, the S.A.C.C.I. became part of the “Cementi Holding”.
We shall see what the future will hold for this, undoubtedly one of the oldest industrial realities of the Chianti region.