CID Documentary Information Centre Torviscosa

Torviscosa was created as a company town by SNIA Viscosa from 1937. The factory produced cellulose fibres to manufacture the artificial textile rayon. The vegetable raw material was the reed Arundo donax which was grown on land reclaimed by the company nearby. The first buildings after the factory were the theatre, canteen, school and workers’ housing completed by 1943. The layout around the Piazza del Popolo followed the pattern of the Fascist era.

The information and documentation centre was built at the entrance to the factory in 1963 to welcome visitors and show products, with a tower for panoramic views. In 2014 it reopened as a heritage centre run by the local authority. It preserves a rich archive of documents, images and films about Torviscosa, including design drawings by the first architect, Giuseppe De Min. A large-scale model shows the town in the mid-1960s. Other models show plants owned by the company elsewhere.