Alexander the Great became acquainted with sugar during his conquest of India, where it was already being extracted from sugar cane by the Phoenicians and Indians. His soldiers brought sugar to Persia, and later the Arabs introduced sugar cane to Egypt and throughout the Mediterranean basin.
Sugar was brought for the first time from Alexandria to Venice, which remained the main centre of the sugar trade until large quantities of the product began to arrive in Europe from the Americas.
The German pharmacist Marggraf made the important discovery that beetroot contains sucrose. However, it was his pupil Franz Karl Achard who, some years later, conceived an industrial application for this discovery.
The first sugar factory opened in Kernen, Silesia. Although it could not yet be considered an economic success, importers of colonial sugar attempted to suppress the industry at its very outset, offering Achard sums of money, which he consistently refused.
During the Continental Blockade, Napoleon supported research into the extraction of sugar from beet, offering prizes and establishing “imperial” factories. The end of the blockade marked the beginning of the greatest expansion in sugar beet cultivation, particularly in Austria and Germany.
A decree issued by the Viceroy announced a competition awarding a prize of 50,000 lire to the four sugar factories producing the largest quantities of beet sugar. In the same year, the first factory was established in Borgo S. Domino (PR), followed almost simultaneously by others in Genoa, Turin and Verona.
However, the sugar industry only began to develop significantly around 1880, thanks to the crisis affecting American plantations, the expansion of railway links between Northern and Southern Europe, and protectionist policies that imposed import duties on cane sugar.
Favourable political and economic conditions encouraged the growth of industrial ventures across a range of sectors, marking the first successful period for the Italian sugar industry.
19th Century
In 1900, there were 26 sugar factories in Italy:
- Bazzano (BO)
- Bologna
- Bondeno (FE)
- Codigoro (FE)
- Ferrara
- Pontelagoscuro Eridania (FE)
- Pontelagoscuro SFIR (FE)
- Cesena
- Forlì
- Fontanellato (PR)
- Parma
- Piacenza
- Sarmato (PC)
- Classe (RA)
- Massa Lombarda (RA)
- Mezzano (RA)
- Avezzano (AQ)
- Rieti
