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A former Fiat car factory, abandoned since 2011, still has all its machines working, but remains without employees
On the Mediterranean coast of Sicilia, One Fiat car factory abandoned seems to be frozen in time. The industrial complex of Termini Imerese, built with support from the Italian government in the 1960s to boost the region's economy and the country's automotive industry, now faces imminent collapse.
The site is a hotspot for urban explorers, who venture out to see what the former owners left behind the day the factory closed in 2011. Watch a video below in Portuguese of explorers who went to the site last month.
The beginning of the history of the Fiat car factory: A promise of development
The factory was founded in 1970, in Termini Imerese, a Sicilian town by the sea. The Italian government decided to invest in the south of the country, encouraging automobile production in the region, traditionally far from the large industrial centers of the north.
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The government provided significant financial support to help Sicily become a hub for automotive production, with a focus on creating jobs and revitalizing the local economy.
To ensure the success of the operation, cutting-edge technologies and the best professionals in the automotive industry were brought in.
For years, the factory employed around 3.200 workers, who helped produce iconic vehicles such as the Fiat 500, Panda, Punto and Lancia Ypsilon.
The production at the Termini Imerese plant symbolized a new chapter for the Italian automobile industry and for the region.
The impact of the global economic crisis
In November 2011, however, the factory gates closed for the last time. The main reason for the closure was the global financial crisis, which severely affected many industries.
For Fiat, production on an island far from the mainland became unfeasible. Logistics expenses increased due to the need to transport parts and finished cars across the sea, which increased the production cost by approximately 1.000 euros per vehicle. This extra cost made the operation unsustainable.
The Termini Imerese plant never managed to reach more than 40% of its maximum capacity, which generated huge financial losses.
Amid this scenario, Fiat announced that production of the Lancia Ypsilon would be transferred to Tychy, Poland, a decision that marked the end of operations in Sicily.
Revitalization attempts and difficulties
After the closure of the plant, several attempts were made to reopen it. In 2016, Bluetec, a company of Metec SpA, with the support of Invitalia, rehired 120 former employees in an attempt to revive production at the site.
However, this attempt also failed. In 2019, Metec's owners, Roberto Ginatta and Cosimo Di Cursi, were investigated for fraud worth 16 million euros, a scam that led to the bankruptcy of the operation and the arrest of Ginatta.
This series of bankruptcies, accusations of fraud and investigations has become a constant in the history of the Termini Imerese factory, which, since its closure, has come to be considered a cursed place by many.
Each attempt at revival was followed by a new failure, and the factory's fate seemed sealed. In 2023, the site was put up for sale again, but without any new updates.
The car factory frozen in time
However, what remains today of Termini Imerese is a true time capsule. When two urban explorers, Andrea and Eelco, venture into the abandoned facility, they are immediately struck by the feeling that the factory is still waiting to be restarted.
The doors creak open and the echo of emptiness fills the air, but everything here feels as if it was left abruptly, as if the workers had gone out for lunch and never returned.
Inside the factory, the production lines still remain, as do the paint booths where the cars were finished.
The two explorers find themselves walking among the machines and equipment, all covered in a thick layer of dust.
Some computers are still on the desks, obsolete, as if time had stopped there. Tools rest on the shelves, waiting, but without any expectation of use.
In one corner, forgotten trophies still stand out, challenging the solitude of the environment. The environment seems so surreal that one of the explorers even compares the place to another planet.
The machines, even when stopped, still show signs of maintenance, with papers on the walls informing that the machines were being prepared for a restart that never came.
The tension of presence
At one point, as the explorers walk through the empty corridors, they hear a distant sound and realize that they may not be alone.
A flash of light appears, and the tension grows. They quickly retreat, fearing being caught by the local security guards.
The feeling of invading a forbidden place makes their adrenaline rise, but they manage to escape, their hearts still racing.
The Termini Imerese factory still stands, but rumors of its demolition have been circulating for years. The reality, however, is different: the industrial complex is still there, resisting time and abandonment, as a reminder of what could have been a great milestone in Sicily's industrial history.
The future of the past
Although the factory is about to be demolished, its legacy lives on in the memories of former workers and in the ruins that still bear traces of what it once was.
For urban explorers, the site offers a rare opportunity to delve into the past and understand the complex interactions between economics, technology and the difficulties of operating on an isolated island.
The history of the Termini Imerese factory is a reflection of the reality of many other enterprises that, despite initial promises, end up succumbing to economic, logistical and political challenges.
Even with the bankruptcies and abandonment, the old factory is still a place of curiosity and a piece of history that, although on the verge of disappearing, will always maintain a shadow of its legacy.
It's always very sad to see an industry built with love be abandoned.
Seeing these machines with signs of permanent use and working for years and years without anyone to take care of them is a sad sight.
parabéns
Your video is really cool, a huge abandoned factory, it's really sad, you guys are very brave, congratulations on your work.
And a calamity, an abandoned car industry, we deserve one
Qui.nu.acre..mais.u.governo.du.acre.e.weak.so.pensa.ir.macachefa
I'm going to work there