I've been in Arese factory, or I should say in its rests, last month.
I saw with some AlfaClubMilano friends the power station that still provides electricity to the new shopping center, racing track and also to other third parts.
Most part of the plant has been destroyed (there were more than 20000 people in '70s) in favour of a new and "indispensable" shopping center
When our industry was the backbone of our country, now its just a bitter memory.
Is this the big vacant factory skeleton behind the big Centro Commercial Il Centro shopping center with the massive unoccupied rear parking lot? If so we went by it by accident trying to get out of that maze after shopping at Iper (after hitting the Alfa Museum).
I wonder if they discovered the hundreds of tonnes of spare parts which (allegedly) were buried somewhere on that site, whilst digging the foundations for that shopping mall?
God more shopping centers sounds awful, they are dying here in the US big-time as well as other countries. Let's hope they don't turn it into one, at least maybe housing....
I finally got through reading this book (in German). It explains when and how the factory was created (in 4 phases), what was produced there (both in terms of parts and cars), the people involved, and then, after the government forced Alfa to create a 2nd factory in Pomigliano d'Arco and then sold Alfa to Fiat, what led to the decline of the factory in Arese, and how it was eventually dismantled and torn down. Although, because of the large quantity of pictures, one could mistake this book as a coffee table book, it actually is very well written, solely focusing on the history of the Arese plant (and skipping Alfa's early history that ha been regurgitated in so many other books). Excellent!!!
Because of the pictures (and how they were ordered in the book), I would recommend this book even to a non-German speaking audience. I can only wish it were published bi- or tri-lingual -- and that similar books will be written about the Portello and Pomigliano d'Arco plants.
Thank you for sharing this new book in your post; it looks fascinating.
I visited Arese last August and toured the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo (which is an absolute must-see and just fantastic); now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t ask my taxi driver to drive me ‘out back’ to visit Il Centro and what’s left of the Arese plant.
Quick question to anyone following: what has become of the giant Alfa Romeo neon sign on the end of the plant and the haunting ‘spirit’ sculpture made of chrome bumpers in the entry court?
(having trouble posting my pic of this, sorry...) Great Alfa art pieces...
Do us all a favor and make some more films for us Alfisti- in and around the Museo, Il Centro and what remains of the stabilimento Arese!
I’m sure I am not alone in being an Alfa history buff; the more research we can get our hands on, the better.
I love Milano and its surrounding area; I stayed at the Mandarin Oriental near the Duomo (most highly praised!) after arriving on the FrecciaRossa from Bologna and tours @ Museo Ferrari and MEF...it was at the conclusion of an epic journey through Italy in a Ferrari 488 Spider!
When I returned home to the US, I bought my dream Alfa Spider as a souvenir of Italia!
Been to Arese very recently, because of a research for my next book, and I took some time to visit the remains of the Arese works. A very emotional moment for me...
Thanks for posting but the page doesn’t paint properly on my iPad. The text is all pushed off to the left.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Alfa Romeo Forums
2.1M posts
88.6K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to Alfa Romeo owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, parts, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!