Tanneries,as well as silk factories,were built in the centre of town while papermills were built north of town along the river. That was because papermills needed water for their machinery while tanneries and silk factories didn't. Processing and materials have changed little over the years and even today they are more or less the same.
The three-floored buildings had round headed archs while stairs and architectonic ornaments were made of stone.The basement, called "riviera", had a stone floor and a brick arched ceiling. That was where the first part of the processing took place.The workers working there were called "sciaboldroni". Raw leathers were washed and softened in large basins full of water. This process took up at least five days.
Pure water was, and still it is, fundamental to the process. Not enough pure water could seriously damage the leather, in fact, large dark-blue spots over the leather's surface were due to the use of hard water.
The next step was the quicklime treatment in which,derm and hair were removed from the leather.After that fleshing took place.It was carried out by workers called "cavallettanti", who placed the leather over stands called "cavalletti".
After fleshing the leather was left for several months in stone basins containing water and bark.
The ground floor had a red brick pavement and a ceiling built of chestnut wood.That was where the leather, after being greased,was given the finishing touch.On the top floor,called "spanditoio" or "essiccatoio" wooden frames were put crosswise.The leather was hung on the frames for drying.