World Heritage Photos

Crespi d'Adda is situated in the Lombardy region of Italy, about 46 km from Milan. The Crespi family realized an ideal workers village nearby their cotton factory. The design and architecture of Crespi d'Adda is famous for being tailored to its workers. The workers and their families were provided with homes, gardens, vegetable gardens, a school, a church, a hospital, a public wash house, indoor swimming pools and all the necessary local services. Only the employees of the factory were allowed to live in Crespi d'Adda. The construction of Crespi d'Adda started in 1877. Crespi d'Adda was the first village in Italy to have modern public lighting. Crespi d'Adda is an outstanding example of a workers village, built in Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Another 19th century workers village is Saltaire in Great Britain. Crespi d'Adda was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1995.

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1. 

   The church of Crespi d'Adda. The Crespi Family realized an ideal workers' village close to their cotton factory. The design and the architecture of Crespi d'Adda is famous for being tailored to its workers. The construction of the ideal workers' village Crespi d'Adda started in 1877. Crespi d'Adda gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1995.

2. 

   Crespi d'Adda: The church of Crespi d'Adda is a replica of the church in Busto Arsizio, the home town of the Crespi Family. The church of Crespi d'Adda was built between 1891 and 1893. The castle and church of  Crespi d'Adda were built facing each other, from the tower of the castle, it is possible to look into the church of Crespi d'Adda.

3. 

   The bust of Cristoforo Crespi, the founder of Crespi d'Adda, a workers' village in Lombardy, Italy. Crespi d'Adda was named after its founder Cristoforo Crespi and the River Adda. The tiny village of Crespi d'Adda is situated on the banks of the River Adda. The Italian workers' village of Crespi d'Adda was designed in a symmetrical layout.

4. 

   Crespi d'Adda: The school was reserved exclusively for children of the employees of the cotton factory of the Crespi Family. The children were provided with free books, the teachers were paid by the owner of the cotton factory. The children learned to read and write, they also learned the skills that were required to be a good worker. Crespi d'Adda is a UNESCO World Heritage.

5. 

   Crespi d'Adda: The houses of the village are placed in an orderly way, about fifty houses were built, each with a garden. The colours and materials of the workers' houses are in harmony to a high degree. Crespi d'Adda is still inhabited. Most of the inhabitants are the descendants of the original workers. None of the houses can be visited inside.

6. 

   Crespi d'Adda: An ideal workers' village was built nearby the cotton factory of the Crespi Family. The workers were provided with homes, gardens and vegetable gardens and all necessary local services. Only the employees of the cotton factory were allowed to live in the village of Crespi d'Adda. The construction of Crespi d'Adda started in 1877.

7. 

   Crespi d'Adda: The office buildings behind the main gate to cotton factory of the Crespi Family. The offices of the factory are situated along the factory-avenue. The offices are surrounded by fine wrought iron fences. The cotton factory of the Crespi Family was sold to the Italian Textile Enterprise in 1929 and in the 1970s to another company.

8. 

   The former hospital of the workers' village Crespi d'Adda. To act quickly in case of accidents at work or illness, a small hospital was built nearby the cotton factory in 1904. Hospital treatment and healthcare were free of charge. Crespi d'Adda is a good example of a 19th century ideal workers' village, the village is situated in the Lombardy region of Italy, about 46 km from Milan.

9. 

   The cotton factory of the Crespi Family is situated along the main street of Crespi d'Adda. The cotton factory was closed down in 2003, the factory is not open to visitors. The buildings of the factory were bougth by an Italian business group in 2013. Crespi d'Adda is considered the most complete and best-preserved workers' village in southern Europe.

10. 

    Crespi d'Adda: The buildings of the former cotton factory of the Crespi Family. The walls of the factory are white-washed and the windows and doors surrounded by red bricks. Crespi d'Adda is a workers' village in Italy. Another important 19th century workers' village is Saltaire in Great Britain. Saltaire is also a UNESCO World Heritage.

11. 

    The power station of Crespi d'Adda. Crespi d'Adda was the first village in Italy to have modern public lighting. There were also public lavatories, wash houses and even a free indoor swimming pool. The Crespi Family was forced to sell the entire village during the Great Depression in 1929. The cotton factory was also sold to another company.

12. 

    Crespi d'Adda: The former grocery, the starting point for guided tours through the village. Crespi d'Adda remained under the ownership of a single company until the 1970s, many houses were sold and became private family homes. The village of Crespi d'Adda was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

13. 

    The chimney of the cotton factory is towering high above the workers' village of Crespi d'Adda. The village was built to a geometric plan around the factory. The factory looks straight down the axis of the main road. There is only one road entering the workers' village, the road ends at the cemetery of Crespi d'Adda.

14. 

    Crespi d'Adda: The Crespi Family used to live in their castle. The red brick castle was completed in 1897, but it looks like a medieval castle, it is full of symbolic references and it expresses the feudal relationship between the master and his workers. The castle of Crespi d'Adda is a private property and not open to visitors.

15. 

    Crespi d'Adda: The cemetery with the pompous pyramid-like mausoleum of the Crespi Family. The members of the Crespi Family are buried in their mausoleum, the workers and their family members are buried beneath a simple headstone. The cemetery of Crespi d'Adda is a national monument.