The production activity developed by the Cistercian monks, who were not allowed to live within or close to an inhabited centre, permitted a permanent settlement and a high respect to the surrounding area and, along with tobacco-growing, gave a strong impetus to the development of Chiaravalle. The “SUN DI SPAGNA”, the most famous snuff tobacco born at Chiaravalle and produced at the end of ’90s last century, the cigars, even the “Toscano” type, which was manufactured from 1833 up to 1969, the “Scaglietta Rossa” for pipes, produced at the end of 1964, have given at Chiaravalle and the surroundings such a development that made possible the birth of an induced and other crafts and industrial activities
The factory was the pride of the Papal State so much that in 1841 Pope Gregory XVI, coming back from Loreto, went to visit it. In 1860 the factory fell under the Kingdom of Italy. In 1861 in Florence, on the occasion of the first Exhibition of Tobacco after the unification of Italy, the factory’s snuff tobacco and cigars were rewarded. The first tests for the production of cigarettes go back to 1873. In 1881, in order to increase productivity, the laboratories for wetting and drying of cigar leaves are extended.
During the World War II, the factory suffered huge damages and a restoration work was required, which until the end of ’80s became a further development of the entire complex. In 2007, after the privatization of the Monopoly’s production system of tobacco, the complex is acquired by MIT Spa with the purpose of becoming again the Italian benchmark in high-quality tobacco manufacturing. In the 19th century, the factory becomes an economic-working reference point and symbol of the urban industrial community, thanks to the cigar-makers, workers who were employed at the factory. But, the real business ‘in series’ began in 1922 with the production of Macedonia, and continued in 1935 with Roma little cigars under the Autonomous Administration of State Monopolies.
“Manifattura Italiana Tabacco Spa” is nowadays one of the unique companies, essential for the enhancement of the Marche region and for the expanding of “Made in Italy” at an international level, engaged in the research of an Italian tobacco of superior quality. In 2010, “Manifattura Italiana Tabacco” received the prestigious Golden Leaf Award, a prize for excellency in tobacco.