Piacenza 1733 is an Italian wool mill founded in Pollone, Biella, in 1733 and still run by the founding family's 14th generation, a continuity recognised by its membership in Les Hénokiens, the association of 200-year-old family businesses.
Fourteen generations under the same family is a claim that's easy to state and hard to actually verify — Piacenza 1733's membership in Les Hénokiens is exactly the kind of third-party confirmation that turns a nice-sounding claim into a checkable fact.
Nearly 300 Years, One Family
Piacenza 1733 has operated continuously in Pollone, in the Biella wool district, since its founding in 1733, and remains under the direct management of the founding family's 14th generation today. That continuity earned the company membership in Les Hénokiens, an association specifically reserved for family businesses with at least two centuries of unbroken history under the same family's control — a genuinely exclusive list, since most companies simply don't survive that long intact, let alone under a single family's continuous stewardship.
From Mongolia to Biella: The Raw Cashmere Pipeline
Piacenza 1733's cashmere sourcing runs through direct relationships in Mongolia, bringing roughly 250 tonnes of raw cashmere fibre to the mill's Italian facility annually. That's a substantial, sustained volume, and it reflects the same pattern seen elsewhere in this series among vertically-minded mills: a direct sourcing relationship rather than buying whatever raw cashmere happens to be available through intermediaries at any given time. Consistent volume from consistent sources is part of what lets a mill maintain consistent quality standards batch after batch.
Now Part of a Larger Group — With Cerruti Under the Same Roof
In 2022, Piacenza acquired Lanificio Cerruti, the historic Biella mill behind Nino Cerruti's mid-20th-century reinvention of tailored menswear. The two mills — Piacenza 1733 and Cerruti 1881 — now sit under the same corporate umbrella, though each maintains its own distinct history and identity. If you're interested in Cerruti's specific story, including its role in genuinely changing how menswear was cut and constructed in the mid-20th century, that's covered in its own piece — the two are worth reading together now that they share ownership.
Water and Power, Handled In-House
Piacenza's operations include investment in water recycling systems and its own power generation infrastructure — the kind of sustainability investment that requires real capital commitment rather than a marketing gesture, since water and energy are genuinely central inputs to the wet-processing and finishing stages of wool and cashmere production.
The Yoo's Club View
Piacenza 1733's cashmere specialization and its now-connected relationship with Cerruti give clients two related but distinct heritage stories worth understanding together — one rooted in nearly three centuries of unbroken family cashmere expertise, the other in a specific, documented moment of menswear reinvention. Reading both pieces gives you the fuller picture of what the combined group actually represents today.
FAQ
Is Piacenza 1733 a cashmere specialist mill? Cashmere is a central part of Piacenza 1733's business, sourced through direct relationships in Mongolia bringing roughly 250 tonnes of raw fibre to its Italian facility annually, though the mill also works with other fine wool and fibres.
Are Piacenza 1733 and Cerruti 1881 the same company? They're related but distinct — Piacenza acquired Lanificio Cerruti in 2022, and the two mills now sit under the same corporate group while maintaining separate histories and identities.
