Alumix, via Volta 11, in Bolzano.
The names of this factory especially reflect the history of Italian industries during the economic boom. Initially, “Alumix” and “Aluminia” described its being an Italian reality. When the crisis hits, the name becomes “Alcoa”, as the factory is bought by an American firm. The factory ended its life by becoming “Sapa”, owned by the Swedish. It has been recently acquired by the government and is now used to host cultural events. This building can tell many stories: the stories of many Italians who moved to Alto Adige looking for a job; the stories of the German population who was forced to “Italianise”; and again, the stories of industrialization of a small mountain region where factories were almost nonexistent. During the economic boom this same building gave a job to a great amount of workers, reaching in the Sixties a level of 50,000 tons of asbestos. Having been recognized as a monumental site of Industrial Archeology, it will be transformed into a technology park devoted to innovation.