Manifattura Tabacchi, Former tobacco factory in Rovereto, Italy.
Manifattura Tabacchi is a former tobacco factory on viale Vittoria in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto. Built from 1851 on plans by engineer Latzel of the Vienna public works administration, with works directed by Giovanni Smith and Giovanni Rezzori, it opened in 1854–1855 with two workshops of 220 workers each. The complex was bought and redeveloped by Trentino Sviluppo as the Progetto Manifattura industrial innovation centre.
The factory was founded in 1854 under Austrian administration and grew into one of the region's largest employers. Production stopped in 2008, leading to the site's transformation into a sustainable technology center.
Women made up the majority of the workforce, and social innovations at the factory often began with them: the first employer-provided nursery, an emergency loans bank, and the first workers' union, formed inside its walls. The Virginia cigars were the plant's best-known product before 1914.
The complex sits on viale Vittoria in Borgo Sacco, a district of Rovereto. After closure in 2008 it was bought and redeveloped by Trentino Sviluppo as Progetto Manifattura, an industrial innovation centre; the former workshops now house businesses and research bodies. Check access arrangements for individual buildings before visiting, as the site is a working innovation hub rather than a museum.
The factory's social innovations were often started by its women workers, who formed the majority of the staff: an employer-provided nursery, an emergency loans bank and the first workers' union inside the walls. The site also hosted promotional work by Fortunato Depero, the Rovereto artist, in the years when its popularity grew.
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