In 1882 Mr. Carlo Saldarini founded in Anzano del Parco, a little village in the Como Lake area, in Italy, a Silk Spinning Mill which rapidly grew becoming one of the leading industries in this business. In 1909, at the time this picture was shot, Saldarini spinning mill was employing over 100 workers, and a few years later the company moved closer to Milan where there was much more water, an essential element for spinning silk yarn. World war one and two, later on changed the industry and technologies made dramatic improvements, thousands of farmers moved to the big industrial towns, and fewer and fewer of them were still cultivating mulberry trees, whose leaves were used to feed silk worms. Mostly because of this spinning mills slowly but constantly disappeared in Italy. Fund of the experience he made in the family business before Wolrd War two, in 1954, Mr. Salvatore Saldarini established in Como, which was also known at that time as the “Silk Capital of the World”, a converting company with few emplyees making fabrics for neckties named Saldarini & Rusconi. Those were the so called "Italian Miracle" years after the war, when the economy of the country was growing at an exceptional rate. At the end of 1960’s Saldarini’s production was diversified, selling to the most important wholesalers manufacturing neckties and began presenting its own collection of Foulards. In 1974, the son of Salvatore Saldarini, Alberto, started the first mill: a small printing plant with only 4 printing tables where workers used to print fabrics entirely by hand. In 1976 Alberto Saldarini’s wife, Francesca Saldarini, begun working for the family run company that was then called Saldarini & Saldarini. Francesca started developing an exclusive collection of Scarves and Shawls; it was an immediate success. In order to meet the demands of our customers Saldarini & Saldarini bought a much larger, new factory moving the print plant to this new location. In 1984 Saldarini & Saldarini, signed a contract with a local trading company to show its products in a show room in New York, and began exhibiting at the most important trade shows in the US accessory markets. In 1989, the print plant doubled its factory size and invested over 10 million dollars in updating all of its printing machines. In 1992, the new show room located in a building of the early 17th century was opened after its complete restoration that began in 1989. In the same year started the construction of new offices at this location where the company finally moved to in 1996. In 1999 Saldarini & Saldarini incorporated in the US, establishing Saldarini USA, Inc. a company established to give our US customers more efficient service. In 2000 a new Saldarini Store was opened in Serravalle Scrivia, a little village located close to Milano and Genova, in the first and yet the largest Designer’s Outlet Center manager by Mc Arthur Glen. This store is 200 Sq. Meters big and it was designed by an internationally famous interiors design firm based in Rome to be the prototype for all the new Saldarini stores which were to come in the future. Later on, in fall 2000 another Saldarini store was opened in Lugano, Switzerland, a prestigious corner was opened in Spring 2001 in Hong Kong at New World Department store right in front of the Peninsula, Sheraton, Regent and Shangri-la Hotels and the new Kowloon train station to Disneyland. The corner which was located on the ground floor, was then moved in 2002 to the new Shenzhen Flagship store. In October 2001 Saldarini opened in Seoul – Korea, its first Flag Ship Store in Asia on the prestigious Cheungdamdong Street, which house flagship stores of all the most important brands, including Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, etc. The contract of this store is now expired and we're re-negotiating its lease though. In 2003, we opened five new SALDARINI 1882 Monobrand stores and corners, both in Italy and abroad.    Four new openings are already scheduled for 2004,   out of which we're particularly proud of the new boutique in Milan which will be located in Via Tommaso Grossi, the street Louis Vuitton and Prada choose for their new flagships which goes from Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, next to the cathedral, to the famous Via Dante:    we'll be located a few steps away from the new Grand Park Hyatt Hotel in an exclusive XIIX century building, and there we'll offer just a the nicest selected items from our lines. The Saldarini family still solely owns the company that is now oriented to the global market ands has customer’s worldwide.    Saldarini is headed by Francesca Saldarini, President and Designer, Alberto Saldarini, Vice-President, and by the third generation Chiara Saldarini and Francesco Saldarini CFO.