Fonderie Ilva di Follonica, Former industrial complex and urban park in Follonica, Italy.
The Fonderie Ilva di Follonica occupy a disused ironworks area inside the town of Follonica, in the province of Grosseto. The complex was laid out between 1834 and 1841 to a design by Henry Auguste Brasseur and holds the paired San Leopoldo furnaces, inaugurated in 1835, and Maria Antonia, inaugurated in 1841. Some buildings stand abandoned, while others now house the Biblioteca della Ghisa, the Museo delle arti in ghisa nella Maremma and the Teatro Fonderia Leopolda.
The foundry was established in 1546 by the Appiani family and processed ore from nearby islands into metal goods. Production operations ceased in 1960 when the business could no longer sustain itself economically.
The site holds a museum dedicated to cast iron craftsmanship and a theater that serve as gathering places for the community. These venues help people connect with the region's industrial past through exhibitions and performances.
The complex sits inside Follonica's built-up area, between the factory and the marina, with the Petraia stream on one side. Some buildings are in complete abandonment, so routes between the reconverted ones are not uniformly marked. The Ghisa library, the cast-iron museum and the Fonderia Leopolda theatre are the reconverted stops to look for.
The two paired furnaces, San Leopoldo (inaugurated 1835) and Maria Antonia (1841), were built to the design of Henry Auguste Brasseur. A third unit, the "forno piccolo" for second-melting castings, followed in 1843, and the "fornone" blast furnace no. 4 was added in 1859.
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