Piacenza Cashmere

Regione CISI, Pollone (Biella)

Merino wool

In Pollone, a stone's throw from the Burcina Park with its 57 hectares of greenery and rhododendrons, there’s Lanificio Piacenza 1733. The warehouse of raw materials tells the story of each type of wool, as well as the photographs of family travels to the Himalayas, Tibet and Peru. The heart of the company lies in all the stages of fabric processing - follow the creation of precious fabrics step by step makes an incredible experience, specially if the key to perfection is the thistle flower, symbol of the Piacenza family since 1733. Don’t miss the carding process.

LANIFICIO FRATELLI PIACENZA

Regione CISI, Pollone (Biella)

The Tale of Piacenza Cashmere, since 1733

Four hundred years of history are an important heritage, and the men of the Piacenza family have known this for fourteen generations. In the Biella region, "we have the best water in the world," says Carlo Piacenza, CEO of Piacenza Cashmere 1733. That's why the company chose Pollone to expand, a precious place immersed in greenery.

The entrepreneurial adventure of the family, which began in the distant 1600s, is marked by pioneers of travel, research, and the study of new raw materials: the finest noble fibers. From the super-fine merinos of Australia and New Zealand to vicuña, the "fiber of the Gods" from the natural reserves of Peru. Mario and Guido Piacenza, on one of their incredible journeys in the Himalayas (in 1913), discover the softness and warmth of Cashmere fabric that wraps around the ankles of the Sherpas. They fall in love with it and decide to bring it to the looms of Piedmont.

The treatment of noble fibers, as tradition dictates, is an operation that requires a lot of attention. Piacenza 1733, in full respect of product quality, continues to use a great ally: the thistle flower, the heart of the company. It is a processing technique in the finishing phase: carding. The dried thistle flowers, which must be replaced every 48 hours, gently brush and comb the fabric, leaving it incredibly soft and shiny. A step that requires time, experience, and passion, elements of excellence that represent the identity and determination of the Piacenza mill. The company's heritage is preserved in the archives, in the Casa Piacenza Foundation, but above all in the surrounding nature. It is the inexhaustible source of inspiration for the family's story.