It is known that Arsiero’s history of papermaking began in the 16th century, as there is documental evidence of small mills and highly trained workers who lived on a street still called “Via dei Cartari” (Papermakers’ Way). The Republic of Venice’s extensive use and trade of paper led to the opening of handmade-paper mills in the Veneto’s foothills, which had good quality water and a temperate climate.
In the plain below Arsiero, evidence has been found of mills where paper was produced by hand, or with a stamper, in Contrà Sotto la Madonna, Prà dei Molini (today, Cartiera di Mezzo) and Barco. Each mill used 900, 1800 and 2700 rags to produce 200, 400 and 600 reams respectively, each weighing an average of 7 kg. The number of people employed to make the reams was 7, 14 and 19 respectively. Most of them were women.
By the 1850s, the three papermills had expanded to employ 96 of the 354 people working in all papermills across the province. Production reached 100,000 reams of paper.
The first attempts to produce paper continuously were made in the early 19th century with machinery that was originally rudimental but was perfected as time went on. By the end of the century, machine-made paper had become so successful that it threatened the production of handmade paper, which was more costly, being slow and empirical. The effects of this competition were also felt in Arsiero, as in 1872 a group of wealthy investors financed the opening of a company, Cartiera di Arsiero, in order to build a mill in Via Perale that could produce paper with “continuous machines”. Production, however, ground to a halt just a few years later due to costly plants, poor technical organisation and administration, and a lack of an adequate sales network. In 1878, Senator Alessandro Rossi from Schio, owner of the famous wool mills, purchased the papermill, putting his son Francesco in charge. Francesco set about reorganising it, changing the mill’s name to Cartiera Rossi in 1905, and turning it into one of the day’s most productive and successful papermaking plants.
Sources:
Mercanti, pionieri, capitani d’industria, Giovanni Luigi Fontana, Neri Pozza Editore, 1993.
Arsiero-Panorama storico, Angelo Busato, Tipolitografia G. Fuga e Figli, 1993
I cento anni della Cartiera Rossi, a cura del Prof. Remo Schiavo, Stampa G. Rumor, 1978.
