Abstract
The silk mill of Bologna is an important example of the proto-industrial system of factory production. The present paper examines the distribution of silk mills in Bologna in an attempt to follow its historical development and delineate their material and technological structure. The technology which underlies the functioning of the mills is analyzed while emphasizing the unique nature of these artifacts in the history of machinery. Focus is basically placed on the structure/machine aspect of the mill bringing out certain aspects of the history of technology and material culture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bloch, M.: Avvento e conquiste del mulino ad acqua. ID, Lavoro e tecnica nel Medioevo 73–110, 201–219 (1970)
Ceccarelli, M., Cigola, M.: On the evolution of graphical representation of gears in mechanisms, transmissions and applications. In: Lovasz, E. and Corves, B. (eds.) History of Mechanisms and Machine Science, vol. 3. Springer (2011)
Guenzi, A., Poni, C.: Sinergia di due innovazioni. Chiaviche e mulini da seta a Bologna. In: Quaderni storici XXII, 64 (1987)
Guenzi, A.: Acqua e industria a Bologna in antico regime. Giappichelli (1993)
Pini, A.I.: Energia e industria tra Savena e Reno: i mulini idraulici tra XI e XV secolo. In: Tecnica e società nell’Italia dei secoli XII-XVI. Centro italiano di studi di storia e d’arte (1987)
Pini, A.I.: L’acqua nella città medievale. Canali e mulini a Bologna tra XI e XV secolo. Scuolaofficina IX(1) (1990)
Zanotti, A.: Il sistema delle acque a Bologna dal XIII al XIX secolo. Compositori (2000)
Acknowledgments
We hereby thank the Museo del Patrimonio Industriale - Istituzione Bologna Musei - Comune di Bologna (http://www.museibologna.it/patrimonioindustriale) for allowing us to take photographs of the functioning mechanical model of waterwheel and the mechanical spinning wheel.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bartolomei, C., Ippolito, A. (2016). The Silk Mill “alla Bolognese”. In: López-Cajún, C., Ceccarelli, M. (eds) Explorations in the History of Machines and Mechanisms. History of Mechanism and Machine Science, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31184-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31184-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31182-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31184-5
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)