A century of industrial history told through images from the Edison Photographic Archive

The first initiative undertaken by the Edison Committee in Venice dates back to the summer of 1882, with the lighting of the S.A. Cotonificio Veneziano factory.  Beginning in 1920, new land was acquired for the construction of a new industrial zone.  This marked the beginning of a relationship that has lasted more than a century. 
 
The total refurbishment of the Marghera Levante thermoelectric power plant offered an opportunity for Edison to document a century of industrial activity in Porto Marghera through a collection of images from the Edison Photographic Archive. More than 250 photographs document industrial activities on the site by Montecatini, Edison, Montecatini Edison (later Montedison) and affiliated companies, mostly concerned with production in the chemical, petrochemical and iron and steel industries, and the places where the plants were located, with a focus on the human element. 
 

A new industrial hub was built on the Bottenighi sandbanks, on order of Piero Foscari, Giuseppe Volpi and the mayor of Venice, Filippo Grimani, with the support of banks and companies as well as state funding. Because of the modern infrastructure available and its favourable geographic location, the site was also considered of interest by 'Montecatini' Società Generale per l'Industria Mineraria ed Agricola (Montecatini General Society for the Mining and Agricultural Industry), which, led by Guido Donegani, the architect of the company's entry into the chemicals industry, decided to purchase land for the construction of new plants in 1920. 

At the end of the Second World War, while Montecatini proceeded with the restoration of plants heavily damaged by the war, a new player came to Porto Marghera in 1946. The increasing likelihood of nationalisation of electricity convinced Edison, led by Piero Ferrerio and Giorgio Valerio, to diversify its business, focusing on the chemicals industry, which was booming at the time. 

These were the so-called 'boom years' (1958-1963), when increasing prosperity came to ever larger sections of the population. Montecatini became better known to the mass market, also thanks to the silver screen, where advertisements introduced the television audience to Moplen, the commercial name given to isotactic polypropylene, invented by Giulio Natta, Nobel Prize winner for chemistry in 1963. 

Following the nationalisation of the industry in 1962, Edison acquired control of Montecatini in July 1966. The spheres of business of the Montecatini Edison Spa group (which later became Montedison) thus ranged from chemicals to petrochemicals, from pharmaceuticals to dyes, from artificial fibres to large-scale distribution, from foodstuffs to mining and metallurgy, and much more. And this is how one of the world's largest petrochemical giants was born. Italy had become a country of mass consumption, as denounced by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Though the 'boom years' were over and the first signs of crisis loomed on the horizon, the economy continued to grow, albeit with some slowdowns, at least until the 1973 oil crisis. 

The new millennium brought new global challenges: climate change, the need for careful, conscientious use of resources, innovation and the energy transition are all issues with broad public support. In 2002, the merger of Montedison, Edison, Sondel and Fiat Energia created a new company that retained the name Edison Spa, since 2012 a subsidiary of EDF (Électricité de France SA).