On June 27 at 6:00 PM, the event Return to BI: Journey, Learning, and Return will be inaugurated at Palazzo Ferrero in Biella.
The exhibition will be open to the public until September 28, 2025.
The project was conceived by Marinella Bianco and Raffaella Simonetti to recount the international experiences undertaken, since the 19th century, by entrepreneurs capable of overcoming deep crises, such as those experienced in the 20th century in the Made in Italy sector. Their skills, future vision, and continuous innovation turned these businesses into solid companies of international standing.
The aim is to show how those journeys were a major source of learning and, at times, revolutionary change, leading to uncommon openness of mind. This is the key message intended for new generations to help them interpret the future of work, their region, and their opportunities. These journeys should be return trips: the myth of living abroad needs to be debunked—one’s own country can and must offer opportunities to young people.
The core message is: If you can imagine it, it exists, and travel should fuel imagination.
The exhibition aims to build a bridge between past and future by engaging young people in narrating the knowledge and skills acquired abroad; strengthening the dialogue among businesses, cultural institutions, and the education system; and, in synergy with TAM Academy, reflecting on sustainable development models linked to short and conscious supply chains.
The exhibition path features highly valuable historical documents, including photographs, objects, clothing, and fabrics—evidence of the journeys undertaken since the 19th century by members of three great entrepreneurial families from Biella, preserved in their historical archives.
The Piacenza Family: The experiences of Giovanni, Felice, and Guido demonstrate how international exposure influenced materials, style, and business vision. Giovanni Piacenza (1811) revitalized the family’s wool mill through travels in France and England; he was elected mayor of Pollone, founded Burcina Park, and promoted the Santhià–Biella railway. Felice Piacenza (1843) traveled to Belgium to study textile innovations, built a hydroelectric plant designed by Galileo Ferraris, and founded the Biella Industrial League and the “Felice Piacenza” school-mill. Guido Piacenza (1881), an aviation enthusiast, flew a balloon in 1909 reaching 9,000 meters in altitude, promoted Biella’s first airfield, and traveled to Africa, documenting the Belgian Congo with hundreds of photographs and film sequences.
The Buratti Family: Federico and his father, passionate about travel and photography, created a photographic collection that documents their numerous journeys around the world. They gathered objects and artifacts especially from the Far East and Africa, showing how the dialogue between distant techniques and cultures enriched their work as textile entrepreneurs.
The Maggia Family: The exhibition includes the “Geographic Society” collection from the knitwear company, born following Umberto Maggia’s journey to Alaska. The garments, designed for technical outdoor use, anticipated current trends and reflect the value of research into fabrics and materials. Each piece, preserved in the Maggia archive, comes with a “talking label” that tells the story of its origin and purpose. The display features trousers, jackets, sweatshirts, and original accessories selected from the archive’s 5,280 pieces.
