Post by Luca Cottini

The Sella family is a key asset in the history of Italian industrialism. Pietro Sella was the first to introduce the hydraulic mill for wool production in 1817 in the area of #Biella, in Northern Piedmont. In 1835, his son Maurizio acquired a piece of land on the Cervo river, which included a waterfall, and developed around the new mill a considerable plant, which would grow into the most important wool factory in Italy. In parallel with the Lanificio, the family business acquired national and international visibility also thanks to the work of natural #preservation and geographic exploration by Maurizio’s son Quintino, and his nephew Vittorio. Quintino, who became minister of finances of the Kingdom of Italy right after unification in the 1860s, was part of the expedition that summited the peak of Monviso in 1863 and the same year became the founder of Club Alpino Italiano for the promotion and preservation of Alpine trails. Many mountain lodges are still named after him. Following in his footsteps, his nephew Vittorio became a pioneer of alpine #photography, by charting the unexplored spaces of the Alps, and offering the first photographic vision of the Caucasus (where a mountain bears his name), Ruwenzori, Mount Saint Elias in Alaska, Karakoram & #K2. In the 20th century Sella reconfigured the business as a hydroelectric plant and in the 21st century, the Fondazione Sella has become a museum, an archive, and a platform of #innovation and social engagement. Sella’s articulate mix of industrial development, community work, and zeal for the natural #environment offered a significant model to another local company, Ermenegildo Zegna, which is now the world’s leading producer of top quality #wool. More on the history of the wool industry, the Sella family and the wool #entrepreneur Ermenegildo Zegna in the latest episode of #italianinnovators at bit.ly/zegnainnovators