Iron and Metalworking

Abstract

The scarcity of raw materials and high energy costs were the limits of the industry at the beginning of the 19th century, aggravated by the persistence of old technologies and organisational systems which were typical of the Alpine ironworks during the Ancien Régime. It was necessary to proceed with complete modernisation, which would adequately combine the availability of productive factors, their efficient processing, and their subsequent placement on a wider market. The entire Lombardy economy and steel processing in particular - one of its most deeply rooted sectors with centuries-old mountain traditions - had to face the challenges of changing production, organisation, and markets. This chapter discusses the structure of the sector, with its multitude of productive poles scattered along the valleys of the Alps, which led to accentuated specialisation. At the same time, this process fostered imitation from international competitors, a precondition of the overall modernisation carried out during the 19th century by innovative entrepreneurs by increasing the use of scrap to replace minerals, the pursuit of energy (from hydraulic power and charcoal to electricity), and the adoption of the electric furnace. Entrepreneurs shared a strong international vocation and became the promoters of innovations tested during the time of Austrian rule and perfected in the decades after Unification at the start of the country’s industrialisation process.