It was 1884 when Terni entered into the history of steelmaking: based on Admiral Benedetto Brin’s project in collaboration with the Veneto entrepreneur Vincenzo Stefano Breda, a unique steelwork was established in Italy that became the symbol of the modern turnaround of Italian industry. First steel plant to take on the proportions and structure of a large enterprise in a country still with a predominantly agricultural vocation. With more than 140 years of experience, today Arvedi AST is one of Europe’s most important integrated-cycle steelmaking sites in the stainless-steel sector.

The Arvedi AST Historical Archive is a cultural asset, declared by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities to be of considerable historical interest due to its absolute and priority importance for the economic and social history of the Umbrian region and the entire Italian nation’. It consists of paper, photographic and audiovisual documents that cover a chronological span from 1873 to the 1990s of the last century. The photographic heritage is the result of the work of company and non-company photographers who have immortalised the changes that have taken place over time, creating visual memories of plants, production processes and finished products. There are also many pictures that tell the story of the social life of the factory, from the visits of illustrious personalities to the after-work and welfare activities set up for its employees. The documentary films commissioned by the company to tell the story of the factory, its transformations and the major works carried out over time are of great cultural interest.

Arvedi AST promotes industrial culture by preserving and enhancing its cultural heritage and making it available to the community. The corporate cultural project is aimed at the world of academic research, schools and all those who, for various reasons, have an interest in corporate history and culture. A unique research centre in Umbria that preserves the sources for the economic and labour history, but also for the social history of the territories affected by the great steel industry of Terni.