Torviscosa 1943
Why Torviscosa?
The photographs that Frentz took in Torviscosa concern the industrial plant, taken from close and large range, and also the gentle reeds that, at the time, were used in the production of cellulose. The photographer focussed on SAICI – SNIA Viscosa for a number of reasons. Torviscosa was a very important industrial area at the time, both for the considerable number of workers and for the type of production. Additionally, the control that Germany intended to impose over this area was not exclusively military, but also in the civil and economic sectors. As an example, the Supreme Commissioner of the “Adriatic coast” (the Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer) signed the new salary regulations for SAICI employees in 1944.
However, Hanns-Peter Frentz, the photographer’s son, points out his father’s great interest in the new architecture, which was shared by Hitler: “therefore Hitler invited my father often to join him, when he visited his architects to study models of planned new architecture. Torviscosa was one of Mussolini’s new model towns. I think this was the main reason to study this and inform as well Hitler about this”.
Torviscosa, SNIA Viscosa – SAICI plant, Statues by Leone Lodi @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, Statue by Leoni Lodi: La continuità della stirpe nel lavoro @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, Statue by Leoni Lodi: Sintesi di Forza, Ragione e Fede @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, SNIA Viscosa – SAICI plant, Jensen towers @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, Arundo donax cultivation @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, Sheaves of Arundo donax @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, SNIA Viscosa – SAICI plant, Inner avenue @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, SNIA Viscosa – SAICI plant, Inner avenue @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, SNIA Viscosa – SAICI plant, Leaching tanks @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, view from the tower of the Agricultural Laboratory. In the foreground: working houses; in the background: Villa di Sotto (houses destroyed by bombing in February 1945); in the background: Industrial plant @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, vista dalla torre del Laboratorio agrario. In primo piano: Case gialle; in secondo piano: Villa di Sotto (case distrutte dal bombardamento del febbraio 1945); in fondo: Stabilimento industriale @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa, Working village @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Torviscosa. Left: Arundo donax; right: present-day via Vittorio Veneto; bottom: block of flats in the present-day via Roma @Walter Frentz Collection, Berlin
Walter Frentz (1907 - 2004)