Historical Roots of Rivana Paper Industry and Alto Garda Mills
The Rivana paper industry truly has its roots in ancient times, along with the entire Trentino region. It began over 600 years ago, exploiting the abundant water resources of its lands. The first recorded mention of this production dates back to the 1400s. This is evidenced by a record preserved in the municipal historical archive of Riva, which documents a payment for the rent of a paper mill located in Albola.
Of course, it was, as was common at the time, a modest workshop. Often, these were watermills: “paper mills,” adapted for the purpose. Nonetheless, the history of paper mills is ancient and rich, and they are still very present today, with over a thousand workers in the Alto Garda area. This history is recounted in a new, substantial, and valuable volume published by Cartiere Fedrigoni, which has two facilities in Varone and Arco.
The publication and the presentation
An extensively authored work, titled “Mulini da carta” (“Paper Mills”), with the subtitle: “The Paper Mills of Alto Garda – Tini and Torchi between Trento and Venice.” Yesterday morning, the presentation was held at the Riva Palacongressi. The authors and journalist Piero Ostellino provided introductions, and naturally, the president of the same group, engineer Giuseppe Fedrigoni, welcomed the audience in a packed hall.
This greeting allowed him to share some brief information about the modern presence of his paper mills in the region and worldwide, where the group is now established. The story of the Fedrigoni name, however, began three centuries ago in Trentino, when Giuseppe Antonio Fedrigoni, a native of Tierno di Mori, opened his own paper mill in San Colombano, near Rovereto, in 1728, after renting another mill a few years earlier, in 1714.
A family branch later expanded this activity into Veneto, towards the end of the 1800s, where paper manufacturing had already developed over several centuries. Naturally, it was more artisan craftsmanship than a large industry, based on “tini and torchi” (baths and presses), but continuously evolving through the exchange of experience and new techniques between the two regions: Venice and Trento.
The Fedrigoni presence and the editorial initiative
The Fedrigoni family established itself in Riva much later, arriving from Verona in 1938. It was during this year that Gianfranco Fedrigoni purchased the Fiorio paper mill and later the former Bozzoni paper mill. Nonetheless, their long-standing presence justifies the editorial initiative undertaken.
This is a valuable work – as emphasized – aimed at promoting, in benefit of the Riva community as well, a study designed to provide an extensive overview of the origins and evolution of paper-making activities in an area, Alto Garda, particularly significant for its geographical position along the border between the Republic of Venice and the Prince-Bishopric of Trento.
