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Italcementi - Cementificio Piccinelli

: : g a l l e r y : :

Kilns and railway viaduct in the second half of XIX century

More than 150 years ago, right on this site was built the first modern cement plant of Italy. The history begins in 1854, when the development of Milano-Venezia railway line reached the town of Palazzolo, where it was necessary to built a long viaduct over the Oglio river. The operation was managed by a French company, called Lamarque&Lautrec, who decided to built some kilns to have cement and lime directly on the construction site. After the viaduct completion, the factory was sold to the Italian company Calci&Cementi, founded in 1864 by Giuseppe Piccinelli, later known as Italcementi. From 1875, this factory became an important manufacturer of Portland cement, as it was provided with 6 new vertical grid ovens, side by side to the older continuous fire ones, reaching the production of 55.000 quintals/month. In the year later it was decided to build a little railway line from the quarry to the factory, to replace the old transport mode by boats along an artificial canal. This railway was replaced again in 1932 by a modern faster cableway. Right before the Second World War the factory was able to produce 240.000 tons/year of Portland cement, using 2 brand new rotating kilns and 11 grid ovens. During the war the huge complex still produced many tons of cement, until the summer of 1944, when some air raids hit the viaduct and the plant too. The complex was soon rebuilt and in 1951 its numbers were 165.000tons/year of Portland cement and 278 employees.

During the 60s, Italcementi strategy to establish many new high-capacity factories , especially in southern Italy, signed the closure or partial cessation of older ones. In Palazzolo plant ovens were turned off in 1966, leaving in operation only rawmills for a few years. After more than 30 years of decay, this historical site is today under demolition.

1920 - Oglio river and cement plant from the viaduct