“After everything that happened between Esselunga and Coop following my father’s publication of the book Sickle and Cart, with the long trail of court cases and political controversy, it may seem almost a twist of fate, but my great-grandfather Bernardo was among the founders of no less than two mutual aid cooperatives.
The first was founded in 1905, the second in 1920, with the aim of ‘benefiting the economy of the consumers of Albiate, Triuggio and Sovico, buying in bulk to supply consumer goods to the retail trade at the best possible conditions in special outlets’ (…). The Albiate cooperative is still in existence (…)’. In addition to being a promoting member, his great-grandfather Bernardo was one of the most active supporters of the cooperative, so much so that he intervened several times with considerable sums to shore up the accounts. He was a convinced advocate of social good, especially when it came to Albiate. He was elected mayor of the town in 1896 and remained in office until 1907. (…). (p. 33).
Below are three pictures of Bernardo . In the third, with a green background, he is seen with the workers of the cotton mill. He is the first one standing in the third row, on the right in the photo, together with his employees, mostly women, who contributed greatly to the success of the company.
