/ Magazine / Other Articles / Lavanderia Italia, Genoa: when industry becomes heritage!

Lavanderia Italia, Genoa: when industry becomes heritage!

by
MARZIO NAVA

A distinctly Genoese story, featuring Lavanderia Italia as protagonist. Once based in the port of Genoa, the company was acquired in the early 2000s by Servizi Italia. The transformation was significant: from the docks of Genoa to Bolzaneto, from Lavanderia Italia to Servizi Italia, and from an exclusive service for ships to a specialized service for the healthcare sector. It was an evolution not only of business and market focus, but also of ownership and managerial vision. Under new ownership since 2003, Lavanderia Italia retained its identity, but in 2011 the operation moved to Bolzaneto, a location perhaps less evocative, but far more efficient from a logistical perspective.

We spoke with Chiara Peterlini, Head of Communications at Servizi Italia, whose foresight and determination helped preserve and showcase the company’s heritage. She shared with us the history, memories, and anecdotes of Lavanderia Italia during its vibrant years in the port of Genoa.

“Lavanderia Italia was founded in the late 19th century and, by the early 20th, had grown to full capacity. At the time, laundry was still exhausting manual work, carried out without modern technology. The company became a trusted service for merchant ships as well as the grand transatlantic liners regularly departing from Genoa to America”.

What inspired the idea of creating this docufilm about a laundry in the Port, a place that has long ceased to exist?

“The idea emerged while looking at old photographs of the Port laundry - images of women sitting on the ground sorting sheets, but also preparing ropes and polishing silverware, tasks far removed from those of a traditional industrial laundry. The docufilm became possible thanks to authorizations granted by the port authority. Yet today, the buildings that once housed the laundry are in a state of decay, barely usable and slowly falling into ruin”.

What plans lie ahead for the seafront space where once stood the laundry?

“There were many discussions over the years, from proposals to transform the area into a museum space, to the suggestion that Renzo Piano might design luxury residences - but, as far as we know, no concrete steps have yet been taken. For an industrial company like ours, preserving history is essential. This project was born with precisely that aim: to safeguard and showcase the memory of the Port laundry. It was a small, family-run business whose stories enabled us to piece together a larger mosaic made of people, work relationships, anecdotes, history, and the rhythms of production”. It was a world marked by hard work, pride, successes, and challenges: a melting pot of passions and aspirations, an eloquent portrait of a time when life mainly revolved around work. “The inspiration came while listening to Luca Bizzarri’s podcast “La ballata dell’Andrea Doria”, a reminder that even the linens of the Andrea Doria were once washed right there, in the Port laundry.

So, I began gathering information, documents, and testimonies. At the Biblioteca Civica Berio, the central library of the Municipality of Genoa, I spent hours leafing through the pages of Corriere Mercantile, collecting valuable material to launch this cultural project: schedules, routes, and records of the transatlantic liners that once docked in Genoa.

I then pieced together a story through interviews, including a conversation with Monsignor Luigi Molinari, former head of the A.R.M.O. Foundation (Assistenza Religiosa Morale Operai - Religious and Moral Assistance for Workers) and chaplain of labour, whose mission was to promote, support, and protect workers according to the Catholic principles. The Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea also provided certain authorizations and documents that allowed us to give substance, and indeed oxygen, to our project”.

What challenges did you face in collecting the material, documents, and testimonies?

“The most difficult part was finding people willing to share their experiences. For some, their years in the laundry had been tucked away in memory, accompanied by a certain reluctance to revisit them, while others, instead, made an invaluable contribution, generously opening up and recounting their stories.

The docufilm was presented as a gift to the city, its institutions, and its authorities, with Servizi Italia’s aim being to preserve and showcase an important piece of Genoa’s history. This year, it was also entered into the Premio Film d’Impresa, where it was selected from more than 200 entries to be voted on by a public jury. Although it did not reach the final three titles, the selection itself was already a significant achievement and a meaningful recognition”.

Looking back, what remains of that remarkable experience?

“Lavanderia Italia, as mentioned, has not existed for many years. Today, the Bolzaneto laundry facility serves hospitals across Liguria, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, and parts of Lombardy, processing around 13.000 tons of garments annually with a workforce of 340 employees. Clearly, the purpose, ownership, location, and operations have all evolved… yet at Servizi Italia, we have succeeded in preserving the memory: a bridge that keeps alive our connection to the history and the territory where we first grew”, concludes Chiara Peterlini.

DETERGO MAGAZINE # SEPTEMBER 2025

Read also

Laundry Laboratories

December 2025

Care and maintenance of technical garments: operating guidelines