Il calzaturificio Borri di Busto Arsizio: rileggere il passato per tramandare la storia industriale della città. The Borri's shoe factory of Busto Arsizio: rereading the past to pass down the industrial history of a city.

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the city of Busto Arsizio has always been identified with its industrial reality, especially textiles, so as to deserve the nickname of "Manchester of Italy". The strong presence of the textile and related industries has created a production sector where also the shoe factory Giuseppe Borri stood out. This factory has been in almost a century of history the site of a production of fine quality footwear, on a national and international scale. Nowadays, the building, which has been in public ownership for almost twenty years, is now awaiting refurbishment, which would also involve a large area, part of the city centre. Unfortunately, many buildings linked to this historical and glorious period of the city have already been lost and the restoration of the Borri’s factory could be an opportunity to enhance a unique environment, as it is the last ancient shoe factory almost intact in the North Milan area and an industrial environment of the 19th century distinguished by an architecture in line with the Art Nouveau era in which it was built by arch. C. Crespi Balbi. In the context of Busto Arsizio, there are already two other examples of old factories recovery implemented in 1992-1997: the Cotonificio Bustese (Cotton mill of Busto), now the Museum of Textiles and Industrial Traditions and the old Molini Marzoli Massari, seat of public offices and university classrooms.