Crespi
Unesco World Heritage

Visiting the company town of Crespi d’Adda is like going back to the industrial past! You will have the chance to explore an “outstanding example of the exceptional phenomenon of 'company towns',the most complete and best-preserved one in Southern Europe.” That’s the reason why the Unesco decided to put the village Crespi among the World Heritage Sites list, twenty years ago.

An ideal industrial town, a small feud where workers could live, study, and take care of themselves. Eventually, they were even buried here, at the local cemetery.

The company town of Crespi is perfectly preserved, so much that every house - decorated with elegant cotto tile motifs - is still occupied.
The life of the village and the workers was linked to the textile mill, which was the only purpose of Crespi’s existence.
The schools, the workers’ houses, the mill and the main villa front onto the town’s avenue, which ends (quite metaphorically, indeed) at the majestic monumental Cemetery, a particularly evocative place.
Crespi has been nominated Unesco world heritage for its history and architecture, but nature plays an important role, too: walk across the surrounding pinewood, or explore the landscapes all along the river Adda cycle lane.
Here’s a curious thing: the village of Crespi d’Adda was the first one in Italy to be provided with electrical lighting, with the modern Edison system!

Useful information

Learn more about the history of this company village

Crespi

Crespi and Adda River route

Infopoint Crespi

 

The village is still inhabited. There are no opening hours and you can visit it whenever you like. For further information about guided tours, click here. 

By car:

Crespi is closed to the traffic from April to September during non-working days, from 1.00 to 7.00 pm.

It is forbidden to transit by car across the village nor park inside it.

Visitors must leave their car in the parking lot just outside Crespi.

You can reach the village on foot from the parking lot  (800 meters).