The history of the Lane Borgosesia wool mill is inextricably linked to the Antongini family. Carlo Antongini (1797–1886), who had been involved in the revolutionary movements of his era, left Milan and settled in Arona—then part of Sardinia. Rejoining his brother Alessandro, Carlo soon fled Arona and took refuge in Switzerland. On the advice of Castellani, a salt merchant from Valsesia with a warehouse in Arona, Carlo permanently relocated to Borgosesia.
In 1848, inspired by the English-style mills of the Preussel brothers he had met in Linate, Carlo made the first plans to build a modern carding-and-spinning factory in Valsesia. The region lay on the route of migrating flocks bound for Biella and offered ample water power from the Sesia River, near which sheep were sheared and their wool washed.
On January 30, 1850, the Antongini brothers—Tommaso, Carlo, Gaetano, Cesare, and Alessandro—together with their Milanese partner Zucchetti, founded F.lli Antongini & Co. Their business model—a full-scale “worsted spinning mill”—remains the same today at Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A. With a bill of exchange for £510,000 and significant personal risk, the Antonginis even financed Giuseppe Garibaldi’s “Expedition of the Thousand” by guaranteeing two ships (“Piemonte” and “Lombardo”) for Rubattino of Genoa.
In late 1864, F.lli Antongini & Co. dissolved and was replaced on January 1, 1865 by Antongini & Sciomachen. That partnership ended in 1874, when Sciomachen sold his shares. The new company exhibited its knitting and embroidery yarns at the Paris World’s Fair, winning a silver medal. A devastating flood of the Sesia River in October 1866 damaged their Aranco mill, prompting the move to a safer site on the left bank of the Sesia—known as “Cherchi”—in Borgosesia.
The Antonginis later acquired the “Castellani Mill” at Ponte Anzóna, securing the water rights needed to power their new factory, which opened in 1870 on land they had previously rented from Giovanni Aimone.
On March 1, in a ceremony at the Banco di Torino, Società Anonima Manifattura Lane Borgosesia was established. This corporate reorganization attracted capital to complete the new factory and expand production: by then, the old mill already housed 2,300 spinning frames, with orders for 2,000 more and plans for another 2,700, aiming for 7,000 total.
The new company spurred rapid growth in Borgosesia. Water power—both mechanical and hydroelectric—drove the machinery, while coal- and fuel-fired boilers generated steam for yarn-dyeing. The mill’s influence on local life was profound: by 1874, workers’ housing and mansions (over 1,000 rooms) had been built, along with a 50-member band, a fire station turned over to the town, and a medical center with X-ray facilities offering free care. A pension fund, sports field, library, and a 400-bed girls’ dormitory—staffed by the Sisters of Mary Help of Christians—followed, complete with its own church and theater. Between 1909 and 1927, two more half-boarding houses (150 and 300 beds) opened.
The mill also acquired “North Site”—nine industrial buildings bought in 1910 from Cotonificio Pozzi in Novara Valsesia—linked to the main works by railway. Near the station, the “East Site” housed additional buildings, land, and the Giuseppe Magni School of Weaving and Spinning, later converted into a technical institute. A 60-child nursery was also established.
While Borgosesia’s wool industry boomed, Biella saw three decades of new mills. Export yarn pricing shifted from raw wool value to reflect Italian craftsmanship and expertise—prompting the Zegna brothers to enhance their processes and command higher prices. Renamed A. Zegna after its two founders, the firm launched a hand-knitting division using patented equipment to produce the first worsted-spun angora yarn.
Despite World War II hardships, the company thrived. Post-war Italy’s economic boom revived growth. In 1963, Giorgio and Giulio Zegna succeeded their father Albino and uncle Alfredo, rebranding as Zegna Baruffa and expanding production in Valle Mosso. They laid the groundwork for European and global markets, forging trade links in France, Germany, the USA, and the Far East.
From 1963 to 1974, to meet soaring demand, Zegna Baruffa took over the industrial operations of Manifattura Lane Borgosesia—becoming Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A. The company refocused on top-quality worsted yarns, countering competition from carded spinning.
In the 1980s, Zegna Baruffa launched Cashwool®—an ultra-fine (19–19.5 micron) yarn as soft as cashmere and as lustrous as silk. That decade also saw the brand’s expansion into Japan, marking the start of its internationalization. In the 1990s, overseas offices opened in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Düsseldorf.
In July 2000, Zegna Baruffa celebrated its 150th anniversary at a Florence event themed “Young Spirit,” attended by top global fashion and business leaders.
In 2006, Alfredo Botto Poala and sister Elisabetta—who held 46% of shares—acquired the 42% stake of cousins Massimiliano and Mila Zegna, becoming majority owners. That year they also opened a new dye-house in Borgosesia to drive innovation and uphold elevated quality standards.
In 2007, Supermelange Cashwool® debuted—an innovatively blended yarn with uniform, mélange color achieved by continuous mixing rather than striping.
On June 1, 2009, Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A. and Filatura di Chiavazza S.p.A. signed a preliminary agreement to merge, strengthening the group’s production, commercial, and financial position. In December 2009, Zegna Baruffa acquired Botto Poala S.p.A., forming one of the world’s leading textile groups, uniting the historic brands Baruffa, Chiavazza, and Botto Poala.
In 2014, Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia sponsored “Fashion for Forests – Forests for Fashion” in Geneva, promoted by the UN and FAO, to showcase sustainable fashion’s role in planetary health. The company upgraded its production lines with high-tech water and energy-saving equipment, employing chemical-physical filtration to return purified water to the environment.
In July 2015 at Pitti Immagine Filati, Zegna Baruffa introduced H2DRY™—a unique yarn treatment that imparts easy care, crease resistance, breathability, and elasticity to fine wool fibers. Collaboration with the University of Turin ensured top-performing knitwear comfort.
