150 years of history - Part 2

Development during the turn of the century industrial revolution
 

The late 1800’s and early 1900’s were the years of strong industrial development, promoted by the discovery of electrical energy. On June 28, 1883, the first thermo-electric power plant in Milan, with 4  KW of power, began operations, just a few steps from the Cathedral, the first power plant in Europe and second in the world! (the first was the one on Pearl Street in New York). By the end of 1898, 11 electric and hydro-electric power plants were operating in the Province of Milan, 4 in the city of Milan.

Growth involved thousands of workers whose rights were poorly defended and whose standard of living was extremely modest. The first Trade Union Headquarters was opened in Milan in 1890. A year later, Labour day was celebrated on May 1st for the first time. The sadly famous riots broke out in Milan and were stifled in blood by General Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris in 1898. The demand for more rights and the increase in bread prices led to four days of brutal conflicts leaving 80 people dead and 450 injured. Two years later, King Umberto I was assassinated on July 29, 1900 in Monza by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci who stated he wanted to avenge the deaths in Milan in '98 and the humiliation of Bava Beccaris' decoration.

The growth of food industries was important, especially in the districts of Milan, Lodi and Abbiategrasso, specifically concerning family-run dairies. In 1890, 40% of domestic butter was produced in our area and grana, quartirolo and gorgonzola cheese production reached 20,190,600 kg in the same year, mostly intended for export.

The high national taxes and communal farming surcharges were paid by the land renters who found themselves forced to pay up to 50% of their land revenues, regardless of harvest results.
The Milan Provincial Council promoted the creation of a farming lobby to defend farming interests in the national parliament. This led to the introduction of the 1886 farming equalisation law and the preparation of a new land registry. The construction of new irrigation canals like the Villoresi canal, whose first segment was inaugurated on April 24, 1884, belong to this period.

Great efforts were devoted to improving road and rail traffic flow. The Simplon railway line, connecting France, was constructed in this period to promote economic growth in the provincial area.

In the information field, the last twenty years of the nineteenth century witnessed the birth of newspapers such as "L'Italia" (1882) - liberal, "L'Italia del Popolo" (1890) – republican and "Il Tempo" (1899), the radical voice directed by Claudio Treves. All the newspapers except for the renown "Gazzetta dello Sport" - founded in 1896 – were short-lived. Initially only published three times a week, few know that it was originally published on green paper, not pink.

Provincial revenues were collected from internal navigation taxes and, in the event of deficits, from surcharges on direct land and property taxes and from half the annual automobile tax levied by the State Administration based on the number of automobiles and length of provincial roads in each Province.

Some milestones in Milan’s economic growth:
- The first cotton and metalworking industries were founded in 1900, specialised in the production of railway equipment, precision instruments and textile and farming machinery.
- The chemical industry organised itself on the industrial basis for the production of sodium hydroxide, oxygen, liquid air with the Linde method and sodium sulphate, while the production of copper sulphate sulphuric acid and vegetable oil production was consolidated.
- The famous Isotta-Fraschini automobile industry was founded in Milan and was soon followed by Alfa Milano, later incorporating the name of engineer Romeo.
- The Luigi Bocconi business university was founded in 1902 by Ferdinando Bocconi as a tribute to his son who heroically died in the battle of Adua
- Senator Luigi Mangiagalli founded the Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento in 1906 with three academic faculties.
- The large Falck steelworks factory was inaugurated in 1906 in Sesto San Giovanni.
- The reputable Arnoldo Mondadori Editore publishing house was founded in 1907.
 

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