The explosives Factory - Fontana Liri (Italy)

At the end of the XIX century, in Fontana Liri an establishment for the production of explosives was built due to the will of the Ministry of War, in order to assign it to the Armed Forces.
This factory, only initially called “Polverificio” and now known as “Propellant Military Establishment”, was built on the flat part of the town, which is crossed by the Liri River thanks to which its powerhouse succeeds in producing energy that is necessary to the functioning of its machinery. It was built on 64 hectares of land and, through time, it has been the main location chosen for studies, experiments and ballistic testing. Its production regarded gown powders without smoke for conventional weapons, rockets, missiles and explosive charges.
On the inside, there was a shooting range too. During World War II, it covered an important role: numerous explosives were produced in order to help the Italian army. For this reason, it became the target of the opposing German army, which destroyed the majority of it (and all of its production) with several bombings.
The factory that until 1943 represented the most effient and important explosives factory, became nothing more than ruins. After World War II, it was rebuilt and it eventually found a newly-found splendour: new machinery, more effient than the previous one, was added and the powerhouse was rebuilt. In its history, there have been several explosions inside the structure itself that provoked various victims. In 1979 the Ministry of Defence conferred the new name of “Propellant Military Establishment”.
During the years, the production of explosives gradually reduced and with her, the number of working units. If in 1990 there were about 700 workers, today only 100 are left, weakening the economy of the town and the adjacent areas.