Since 1793 the space housed an industrial settlement, specifically a papal ironworks, the largest Umbrian factory at the time of the national unification with an extension of 12,000 square meters and a workforce of about 200 units.

The ownership of the area was taken over in several phases, from 1997 to 2002, by the Municipality of Terni for almost all of the former factory and, thanks to a recovery and redevelopment campaign, it has hosted CAOS, Centro Arti Opificio Siri since 2009. The recovery of the industrial spaces of the former SIRI chemical factory, restored and redeveloped, is an exemplary case in the Italian panorama of the reconversion of abandoned industrial areas in the urban environment. From a chemical factory to a culture factory, this is how the backbone of the new creative city is born, an emblematic scan in the process of redefining Terni under the sign of contemporaneity.

Some outdoor spaces maintain the original layout such as the access avenue, the central widening of the original housing system and some infrastructural elements, including the water intake works for the power plants, while all the pre-existing buildings are now used as services cultural, marking a highly innovative gap. Furthermore, a section of the perimeter body has been converted into private homes. With its 5600 square meters dedicated to cultural development, the CAOS is an open and flexible center for the production and enjoyment of the arts, composed of permanent exhibition spaces such as the Aurelio De Felice Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Archaeological Museum of Terni , a large area dedicated to national and international temporary exhibitions, the Sergio Secci Theater , the AreaLab dedicated to educational and creative workshops, ateliers for residencies and artistic productions, a specialized library, a video room and a restaurant café, the FAT (3) from live until the evening.