Zegna Baruffa Yarn Manufacturer

The history of the Lane Borgosesia wool mill is closely tied to the Antongini family name. Carlo Antongini (1797–1886), who had been involved in the revolutionary movements of his time, left Milan and settled in Arona, which then bordered Sardinia. Reunited with his brother Alessandro, Carlo departed 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, the first plans were made to establish an English-style spinning mill, inspired by the Preussel brothers whom Antongini had met in Linate. The Valsesia area proved ideal because it lay on the route of sheep flocks migrating to Biella and was located in Borgosesia on the Sesia River, where sheep were periodically 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. The business model was then, as it remains today at Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia S.p.A., a worsted-spinning mill. With a bill of exchange for £510,000 and risking their own capital, the Antongini brothers took part in a uniquely patriotic episode in Italian history: the bill guaranteed Rubattino of Genoa the use of two ships (“Piemonte” and “Lombardo”) for Giuseppe Garibaldi’s “Expedition of the Thousand.”

At the end of 1864, F.lli Antongini & Co. was dissolved, and on January 1, 1865, Antongini & Sciomachen was established. This partnership was short-lived, as Sciomachen sold his shares in 1874. The new company exhibited its hand-knitting and embroidery yarns at the Paris World’s Fair, winning a silver medal.

From October 1 to 3, the Aranco mill was flooded by the Sesia River, seriously endangering workers and damaging equipment. The decision was made to relocate the factory to a safer area known as “Cherchi” on the left bank of the Sesia in Borgosesia. Later, Antongini purchased the “Castellani Mill” at Ponte Anzóna, securing the necessary water rights to generate power for the new factory’s machinery. The new plant opened in 1870, and at the same time Antongini acquired the Aranco site, which had previously been leased from Giovanni Aimone.