Having been to Milan repeatedly over the last decade, and knowing I would be back the next year chasing more WHS, for a long time I never made a dedicated effort to get to Crespi d'Adda, even though it was always well within reach. The information I had picked up regarding the site never impressed me much, so that I rather spend my time ticking off other WHS in the area.

Eventually, mainland Italy had winded down to Crespi d'Adda, so I had to go. Now, I would argue that I probably enjoy industrial sites more than the average visitor; same is true of gardens. And still I found the experience underwhelming. It may have been the weather, a cold, foggy spring day. Or the emptiness of the place. And it sure didn't help that the factory/museum was closed that day. But even if I try to discount these factors, the site never came together for me, unlike e.g. Saltaire or New Lanark.

Crespi d'Adda was an Italian company town for a textile factory. It's located directly on the Adda river which provided hydropower to operate the factory. It was founded in 1878 and grew till the 1920s. The factory continued to operate till 2004 when it was shutdown. Today, it's a sleepy town between Bergamo and Milan, probably housing commuters. If you come to visit, structures of note are the factory, the church, the cemetery, and the hydro power plant as well as the castle.

Reading up on it, Crespi d'Adda seems to be a copy of ideas developed elsewhere, specifically the workers towns in the UK. Similar towns exist all over Europe; I am hard pressed to discern what sets Crespi d'Adda apart.

Getting There

I took a bus from Bergamo to Capriate San Gervasio. From there I walked to the site along the Adda river. On my way out, I crossed the Adda via the footbridge at the hydropower plant and hiked up to Trezzo sull'Adda. From there, I caught a bus to Gessate Metro Station.

While You Are There

Nearby Bergamo is part of the Venetian Defense inscription. Milan is a hotspot and nexus for travel all over Northern Italy.