IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section A
Abstract
The paper addresses the social dimension of dismissed industrial heritage through the case study of Schio City, also known as the “Manchester of Italy.” The research provides an urban analysis of the city’s productive and social fields. Thus, it aims to serve as a theoretical and operational tool for preliminary reflection on its restitution into the community. The presented case study is particularly relevant for its role in Italy’s Industrial Revolution, especially in wool production from the 18th century. Alessandro Rossi, an entrepreneur and a senator in the Italian kingdom, promoted the city’s social, cultural, and economic program. From 1846, he brought international expertise to Schio and established a network of relationships with major industrial capitals in Europe. Rossi combined the Industrial Revolution with social development, promoting a garden city model that included a new workers’ district and the development of infrastructures in the Alto Vicentino area. The architectural program was entrusted to Antonio Caregaro Negrin, an Italian neo-Gothic and eclectic architect. Evidence of Rossi’s projects can be seen in the Fabbrica Alta, a landmark of Schio’s industrial past, the Giardino Jacquard, and the Rossi Kindergarten, all testaments to his social commitment. The MATESCA ClusterLab of the Università Iuav di Venezia and the Municipality of Schio promote the research in collaboration with the local office of the Ministry of Culture. The study is based on multidisciplinary collaborative processes to increase social awareness of industrial heritage’s tangible and intangible values, promoting their transmission to local stakeholders and the broader community with public engagement activities.
Emanuela Sorbo, architect and PhD in Architectural Restoration (SSAV Iuav – Cà Foscari) is a Restoration Professor at Iuav since 2012. A former Architectural Officer at Ministry of Culture, she is member of the Doctoral College at Cà Foscari and at the Iuav Specialization School council. She coordinates the MATESCA research group, oversees cultural heritage conservation projects, and directs a series for Marsilio Editor.
Gianluca Spironelli, architect and PhD student at Sapienza Università di Roma within the National Research Doctorate in Heritage Science. At Università Iuav di Venezia conducts research activity as a research fellow and is involved as a teaching assistant in Architectural Restoration and as a student at Scuola di specializzazione Iuav in Beni Architettonici e del Paesaggio (SSIBAP). His academic interests focus on cultural and landscape heritage preventive conservation through a transdisciplinary and systemic approach, integrating Digital Humanities and computational skills for the semantic modelling and digitalisation of architectural heritage, to promote its conservation, management, and valorization.
Marco Tosato, architect and research fellow at Università Iuav di Venezia, collaborates with the Ministry of Culture office in Verona on conservation projects and with the Veneto Region on the regional landscape plan. He contributes to research and educational activities at Iuav, focusing on evaluating the conservation of cultural heritage, including Teatro Olimpico (Vicenza), Villa da Porto Barbaran (Montorso Vicentino) and Fabbrica Alta (Schio). His work explores integrating historical data with advanced survey techniques for heritage assessment.
9:45 am - 11:15 am
Wednesday 25th June, 2025