“We make steel not chocolates”. With this slogan the Terni football fans from the working-class city of steel mills, addressed their arch-rivals the Perugina from the middle-class city of Perugia. Every city has its symbol, and Terni’s has never been a monument, it has always been about steel and its production. For more than a century this industry has led to the development of the social, cultural, urban and economic development of the entire basin surrounding Terni. A city along with a tradition of iron engineering and manufacturing was born around the steel works. In fact, the “Terni” industry group was up until recent times one of the most important steel, chemical and hydroelectric centers in Europe. Then came the time of the dismemberment of the corporate sectors, the arrival of multinationals, the relocation of factories, the heavy industry crisis and the socio-economic system linked to it. This is the story, in pictures of what has been achieved and what remains of that experience. It is a parable about the clash of an industrial development model against globalization.
