The geography and customs of Varazze were quite different in the 1930s. For example, the train station was located where the indoor sports arena (Palazzetto dello Sport) now stands. There was also a public telephone run by an attendant who called citizens receiving phone calls from elsewhere and directed phone calls. The 1930s also saw the consolidation of historic businesses that still exist today.
The Baglietto shipyards
Varazze has long been prized as a boat-building town thanks to the various shipyards established along the coast during the 19th century. Due to technical advances, however, between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century there was an increase in the demand for iron boats instead of wooden ones, a construction Varazze's shipyards were specialized in: many found themselves closing and dismantling. This made way for the construction of bathing establishments that took hold along the shore from the first decade of the 20th century.
During this time, other shipyards specializing in iron boat construction were established. Among these was the Baglietto shipyard, which is still famous today, although it no longer operates in Varazze.
In 1854 founder Pietro Baglietto established his factory in the area of Santa Caterina: it consisted of a wooden shed in which boats were manufactured. Already in the early 20th century, Baglietto boats were known and highly regarded throughout Europe. In 1916, the shipyard began manufacturing military boats: the MAS (Motoscafo Armato Silurante, or "torpedo-armed motorboat"). Gabriele D'Annunzio coined the motto "Memento Audere Semper" ("Remember to always dare") from this acronym. In the 1930s yachts from the Baglietto shipyards were prized as being among the best in Europe, rivaling British and Norwegian production.
After World War II, the shipyards moved to new premises in San Nazario because the Santa Caterina headquarters had to be demolished due to traffic problems.
After the 1960s the company entered a crisis, which was resolved with changes at the top. Today, the company's headquarters are located in La Spezia, with additional offices in Carrara.
Bathing establishments
The first bathing establishment in Varazze, the Bagni Regina Margherita, was founded in 1887 by the Botta brothers.
A few years later, the Botta family founded another bathing establishment, the Bagni Letizia. Mario Virgilio Garea Del Forno, a man of letters, historian, and a pivotal figure in Varazze's cultural scene during the first half of the 20th century, worked there as manager, combining his activity in the cultural scene with the management of the baths. The Bagni Letizia suffered a fire in 1909; however, thanks to the intervention and financial assistance of Gian Pietro Lucini, a well-known writer in the Italian literary scene, a friend of Garea's, and a frequent visitor to Varazze, it was quickly rebuilt and was operational again the following year.
The Botta family also owned and managed a printing house, where the local newspaper *"Il Teiro. Gazzetta del mandamento di Varazze"* (Gazette of the Varazze District), in which Garea published articles. Garea and his acquaintance and friend Lucini sent some of their works to be printed at the Botta printing house.
After the first two establishments were founded, Varazze began welcoming bathers and tourists who came to the town every summer for relief from the heat in their Piedmont and Lombardy hometowns. This created the need for quicker transportation linking those areas with Varazze and other towns on the Ligurian Riviera, which came in the form of the railway.
The Cotonificio Ligure
The Cotonificio Ligure (Ligurian Cotton Mill), founded in 1906 from the merger of two textile industries — one from Varazze and the other from Massa, Tuscany — was one of the region's largest industrial corporations, with factories in Varazze, Massa, Rivarolo (Genoa), Vignole Borbera, Rossiglione and Masone; some of which were dedicated to spinning and others to weaving. To transport goods, the company had a steamship that shuttled between the ports of Massa, Livorno and Genoa.
The Varazze cotton mill employed many locals: at the beginning of its production, it is estimated that there were 900 workers, most of whom were women. Not all the workers were from Varazze: some came from Urbe or other more distant areas, therefore, the company provided workers' houses, convent dormitories, and other housing options. During the 1920s, a shuttle system was also created to transport workers from the hamlets, who until then had always walked down to the factory in all weather conditions.
During the 1930s, new technological developments led to changes in the machinery at the factory, requiring less manpower and causing mass layoffs. Shortly after World War II, the factory entered a period of crisis due to internal tensions between management and workers, as well as new imports of foreign fabrics at much lower prices. The cotton mill was forced to close in the last decades of the 20th century.
