Maria Pace Chiavari
Entrepreneur and builder: Concept behind the Moinho Fluminense mill
There are several possible ways that entrepreneur Carlos Gianelli and builder Antonio Jannuzzi got together. During the second half of the XIX century, Brazil presented these new arrivals in Rio de Janeiro with a political, economic and social context that was not as peaceful as portrayed by the official Press. Under a full monarchy, the Republican Manifesto was signed in 1870, together with steps encouraging inflows of foreigners, as the abolition of slavery drew near. It was clear that the reins of power were about to change hands.
The main events in Brazil at that time were clustered in Rio de Janeiro. As the old aristocracy decayed, wealthy plantation owners (particularly coffee growers) were eager to modernize their homeland, starting with its capital city. This select group included Carlos Gianelli and Antonio Jannuzzi, with shared interests in modern and apparently promising investments.
During Italy’s Risorgimento and its unification into a single nation, waves of Italian emigrants left their homeland for the Americas, fleeing conflicts among its city-states.17 The history of the Gianelli family in the Americas thus began during the first half of the XIX century. At that time, social and economic development processes in Liguria, Northern Italy, prompted much of its population to move away from rural work. Thanks to its lengthy coastline and ancient seafaring traditions, there were many conversations about acquaintances who had emigrated to Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.18
In 1820, Giacomo Gianelli was born into a milling family in Castiglione Chiavarese. Still today, the old Antico Panificio Gianelli bakery sells delicious pane buono bread in this little town. Eager to make good use of his flour-making expertise, he decided to emigrate to Argentina with his brother Cristoforo. On arrival, they promptly translated their names to Santiago and Cristóbal. Investing in his own mill in Buenos Aires, this Italian miller married Carlotta Oneto, the daughter of another Italian miller. In 1849, they moved to Uruguay,19 and two years later they opened their own mill in Montevideo: Molinos Gianelli. Twenty years later, the idea of modernizing is business prompted Gianelli to travel to Italy, bringing back new machinery and equipment. Presented at exhibitions in London (1862), Paris (1878), and Barcelona (1888), products made by the Molinos Gianelli won several prizes. Underpinned by his financial solidity, these acknowledgements prompted this entrepreneur to expand his activities into other markets in South America. As he was investing family capital, the management of these new mills was necessarily assigned to his sons.
Under the aegis of the ambitious project of building Brazil’s first flour mill, dreamed up by Santiago Gianelli, Carlos Gianelli traveled to Rio de Janeiro in 1880. In his baggage, this newly-arrived youngster carried the experience built up at the family business in Montevideo, together with technical expertise learned while studying in the UK. Soon after, Leopoldo Gianelli arrived in Rio de Janeiro, joining his brother in the management of the new mill.20
Not long before, Antonio Jannuzzi stepped off the boat. Born in 1855 in the town of Fuscaldo, Calabria, he learned the stonemason’s art from childhood onwards, working with his scalpellino father, Fioravante Jannuzzi. Crafting stone into artistic shapes, they produced arches and gateways. When the Jannuzzi family decided to emigrate, Antonio and his brother Giuseppe were chosen to travel to Montevideo in 1872, where they were welcomed by their father’s siblings.21 However, after Antonio failed to find interesting work on the local construction market for an entire year, he decided to move to Rio de Janeiro.
It is very probable that the entrepreneur and the builder met in Rio de Janeiro. Both members of the local Italian community and belonging to the same upwardly-mobile social class that was thriving in the nation’s capital, they would have spent time at the same places. Furthermore, the city was offering incentives for setting up industries, seeking proposals and solutions that would modernize Brazil’s capital city after waves of epidemics. This atmosphere encouraged the two of them to set up a business together.
Elegance and culture were the main characteristics of Gianelli, while enthusiasm and intelligence were the core traits of Jannuzzi, together with perseverance, perhaps instilled through his Waldensian Protestant upbringing.22 Both of them certainly shared the entrepreneurial spirit. Thanks to his modern outlook and the availability of investments, the plan drawn up by patriarch Santiago Gianelli was to materialize as the Moinho Fluminense mill.
The seamless alignment between the industrial design and the complex architecture was a key factor in the success of this enterprise, made possible only through the harmonious thoughts and attitudes of its two main players. The existence of an ongoing – but not always explicit – dialog between these two Italians became clear during the Fleet Revolt in 1893.
During these clashes, the Moinho Fluminense complex was attacked, damaging its equipment and buildings, while also blocking its products. This was justified by claims that Carlos Gianelli was connected to names opposing the government. Headed by the Brazilian Navy, supporters of the well-respected group challenging the policies of President Floriano Peixoto included Rui Barbosa. In fact, he sought refuge in the mill during the Fleet Revolt, before leaving for exile in Buenos Aires. At this time, Antonio Jannuzzi built a false wall in his Santa Teresa home, where he hid his friend José Carlos Rodrigues, 23 owner and director of the Jornal do Commercio newspaper, who was pursued by the police for his strident opposition to the Peixoto Administration.24