10The Twelfth Generation

The twelfth generation The most prominent figures of the 12th generation are Lodovico (of the green line of Valmadrera), and Giuseppe (of the blue line of Egidio). Both were to become Senators of the Kingdom. 10The Giuseppe mentioned above was my grandfather, and was the one who had the most success in entrepreneurial activities outside of the family’s traditional silk business. Also of interest are the lives of certain women of this generation, especially that of the wife of Count Belgiojoso, Ernestina, or Auntie Mamà, as she was called. The story of Giuseppe’s younger brother, Luigi, is reserved for the next chapter. PIERO GAVAZZI (1854-1932) Piero was born in Milan on August 8, 1854, and died there on May 4, 1932. He graduated in engineering from the Polytechnic of Milan in 1875. Besides running the Pietro Gavazzi Company, it is he who was responsible for the founding and setting up of Gavazzi & Co., which manufactured ribbons and trimmings in pure silk and blended silk for hat factories. His address was Via Giuseppe Verdi no. 6 in Milan but he lived for some time with his brother Lodovico at n. 37, Via Monte Napoleone, and also in Valmadrera. The Gavazzi & Co. Ribbon Manufacturers This was a very successful company indeed. Interesting facts can be read about it in the information sheet of the 1900 Universal Exhibition of Paris. The company, based at no. 57, Foro Bonaparte, Milan, was established in 1881 and registered on February 7, 1882 by Lodovico in the General Register of Dealers and Tradesmen – Arts and Commerce. The first office of Piero Gavazzi (1854-1932). the limited partnership was at n. 7, Via Mazzini, in Milan. On February 15, 1884 Pietro reconfirmed the company in the same register. On June 2, 1898 a further record was entered that, by deed dated February 19, 1890, the term of the limited partnership Gavazzi & Co., having in Milan a business for the manufacturing of ribbons in silk, cotton and other fabrics, as well as linings for hats and similar products, was extended to include other limited partners, increasing the company capital to 370,000 lira. Pietro was the Sole Director and free partner1. 1 On January 9, 1886 the Mayor of Valmadrera sent to the sub-prefect of Lecco a list of the factories existing in the borough, in which it writes that the Gavazzi & Co. at Molino Inferiore manufactured silk ribbons and had 99 male workers and 85 female workers, plus 26 boys and 53 girls, for a total of 263 employees. CHAPTER X 298 The factories were totally mechanised. There was one factory in Valmadrera with 125 loom-operators plus 280 workers and another factory in Calolzio, in the province of Bergamo, with 100 loom-operators and 220 workers. The company, with over 300 power looms, was the most important in Italy for the manufacture of ribbons; it used the most advanced equipment and machinery, including machines for fixing, and the best methods for every stage of processing. In 1900 the factory in Calolzio was enlarged. In 1897, Gavazzi & Co. received the First Class gold medal for industrial merit from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce; in Turin (1898), The ribbon factory the Diploma of Honour, and in Como (1899) a non-competition certifi- Gavazzi & C. in cate of merit. In other events Piero was a member of the jury panel. Calolziocorte The company, as the above-mentioned information sheet tell us, was represented by the fol- lowing offices: - Vienna: G. Forster, 18 Riemergasse; - Berlin: Kuller & Hermann, 24 Grnstrasse; - Barcelona: Giuseppe Guglielmi, Barbara no. 16; - Costantinople: Altendorf & Wright; - Alexandria, Egypt: Giorgio Calzetti; - Como: Alessandro Galetti, Via Garibaldi no. 12; - Milan: Central office, Via Meravigli no. 14. In the Guida illustrata descrittiva di Lecco e territorio, published by the «Pro Lecco» Company in 1893, we read that the Gavazzi silk ribbon mechanical weaving factory of Valmadrera had a special importance in the weaving industry. In their book Le industrie della seta all’Esposizione Voltiana 18992, R. Pinchetti and A. Lenticchia give us this description: «In addition, the company Gavazzi & Co. of Milan, if not the only company then certainly the main one presenting at the Voltiana Exhibition ribbons of pure and blended silk, displayed a varied collection of their speciality. The ribbons presented in the competition range in width from half a centimetre to approximately 20 centimetres. Among the types on display, both black and coloured, some were double-faced, others velvety, many were of watered silk and there were even a few pleated samples. Regarding the merits, real and apparent, of the ribbons manufactured by this Company we reserve judgement, since it is not possible to examine them thoroughly through a display case window. We feel it our duty, nevertheless, to emphasise that this very distinguished Company was also awarded a prize for industrial merit by the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, consisting in a first class gold medal with certificate». Gavazzi & Co. soon became established in foreign markets as well, exporting on a large scale, 2 Published by Tip. Cooperativa Comense, Como, 1990. THE TWELFTH GENERATION 299 especially to England, and competing with the largest French, Swiss and German factories. At the beginning of the 20th Century the company was faced with great difficulties, especially due to the lack of certain complementary industries for producing dressings, cardboard articles, etc., which foreign companies had at their disposal, and which they had to produce themselves with special equipment. Today the Gavazzi Ribbon Factory still exists and is owned by the Torrani family, the chil- dren of Maria Orsola Gavazzi (of the Valmadrera branch, born on July 4, 1908). It is now, however, a small thing compared to the extensive turnover of its parent company, which specialises in woven fibre glass, with considerable commercial success. The manufacturing centres are still in Calolzio Corte, where the original factory was located, and in Arcore. The Italian Insurance Company and the Accident Insurance Company The end of the 19th Century was characterised by the rapid growth of industrialisation and an increase in the number of workers; consequently, industrial accidents also became more frequent, making the need for protection more urgent. The main companies chose to enter the new sector of insurance, and this involved creating a specialised company organisation, which would be dedicated exclusively to insurance. Pressed by this new necessity, in 1898 the Adriatica Insurance Company founded in Milan the Italian Insurance Company, with an initial capital of 5 million lira. The Chairman was Carlo Compas de Brichanteau and the Managing Director was Giovanni Pavia. Later, from 1899 onwards, Ermanno Diez took over the position of Managing Director and Piero became Chairman3. The company dealt with insurance and re-insurance in the accidents and public liability branches. Also in 1898 the Italian Fire Insurance Co-operative created the Accident Insurance Association, again in Milan. This association, of which Piero was Chairman, specialised in collective insurance and flourished under the guidance of General Manager Natale Cesaris. Other activities In 1886 Piero became, along with his brother Lodovico, a member of the Town Council of Valmadrera, of which he was later to be Mayor (1906). In addition, he was a member of the Italian Industrialists’ Association for the Prevention of Industrial Accidents and of the Co-operative Committee for the Assistance of Emigrant Workers in Europe and the Near East. From 1891 to 1896 he was a member of the board of directors of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Trades. 3 The Board of Directors was composed of: Piero Gavazzi, Chairman; G. Biraghi, E. Amman, P. Bonacossa, C. Castellini, E. De Angeli, M. De Vecchi, F. Dubini, F. Dumontel, L. Erba, E. Gadda, E. Gerbi, C. Mangili, A. Nathan, G.B. Pirelli, A. Riva, E. Sala, C. Saldini, R. Sigg and P. Vallardi. CHAPTER X 300 He was board member of the Italian Association of the Industry and Commerce of Silk4, and of the «Fire and Life Insurance Co-operative». Piero was also the initiator and designer of the monument erected in honour of King Humbert I, who was killed on July 29, 1900. The monument was unveiled in Piazza della Chiesa, in Valmadrera, on September 14, 19025. The Honours Committee for King Humbert I was made up of Piero and other prominent figures of Valmadrera. The marriage with Orsola Stabilini Piero married Orsola Stabilini (31.10.1855 - 30.7.1929), the daughter of Filippo Stabilini and Rachele Panigatti. The first child of Piero and Orsola, Maria, died in her sixteenth year, in 1896. The diary of Ernestina (the future Aunt Mamà), Piero’s first cousin, who was 24 years old at the time, gives us this account: «Wednesday, September 16, 1896 – On Sunday evening we left for Casargo to attend Maria’s funeral! We slept in Lecco and in the morning at four o’clock, under a terrible downpour, we took a carriage and crossed the Valsassina region. We shall never forget the exemplary resignation of the whole family. Orsola is a true model of a Christian martyr. She herself had dressed her little angel and placed her in her coffin. Then, while encouraging her Piero to be strong, she accompanied her to the church and the little chapel, where they sat with her until nightfall and then took her to Valmadrera. What virtue and what strength there was in that grief-stricken mother! Aunt Angela was Orsola Stabilini also admirable. Vittoria, Lodovico

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