The illustrious Pesenti family operated a paper mill and other modest factories in northern Italy as early as the 18th century. The most prominent and undoubtedly successful branch of the family, led by the brilliant young brothers Carlo, Luigi, Augusto, Pietro, Daniele, and Cesare Pesenti, made a name for themselves in the cement industry. One of the six brothers, Cesare, had studied and graduated in mechanical engineering in Germany. Cesare Pesenti discovered marl suitable for cement production and converted the family business to this material. In 1906, the Fratelli Pesenti company merged with the Società Calce e Cemento of Bergamo, creating Italcementi, which a few years later became the Italian market leader in the sector. Management remained in the hands of the Pesentis, who changed the company's name to Italcementi in 1927.

In the 19th century, production underwent a major evolution thanks to the abundant presence of deposits in the hills around Alzano, Nese, Nembro, Pradalunga and Albino, and the technological and scientific impetus resulting from the collaboration between engineer Cesare Pesenti, a graduate of the Polytechnic School of Aachen (1879), and chemist Cesare Zamboni.

The "Pesenti Portland Cement Factory," now the Italcementi Cement Factory, was built from the existing structures. Its construction was ordered in 1883 by Cesare Pesenti, shortly after returning from his studies in Germany. A site was chosen close to other production sites, power plants, and the Seriana Valley railway line. This site was later acquired by Italcementi. It was one of the first Italian buildings to be protected as Industrial Archaeology and is known as a "Cement Monument." Over the years, the factory was expanded with reinforced concrete workshops, which Cesare had brought from France.

In 1966, cement production ceased and the factory was used only for grinding until it finally closed in 1971. In 1980, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage recognized the factory as a heritage site of cultural importance and placed it under monument protection, although very little evidence of this remains today.