One of the most significant productive sectors of the Veneto Region is the footwear industry, remarkably represented by the production of the Riviera del Brenta. The area stretches along the river between the Provinces of Venice and Padua and it includes, just to name a few, the municipalities of Stra, Dolo, Fiesso d’Artico, Fossò and Vigonovo in the former; Vigonza, Noventa Padovana and Saonara in the latter.
Some shoemaking companies are also present in the Province of Rovigo.
The shoe district of the Riviera del Brenta, the heir of the handmade tradition of the Venetian Calegheri since the XIIIth century, started a full industrial development towards the end of the XIXth century. It is characterized by the production of footwear – both for woman and man – of luxury high-quality for private labels, together with the co-design, production and partly marketing of lots of “labelled” footwear on the world market.
The shoe production system of the Riviera del Brenta counts for over 500 small and medium-size enterprises (PMI). In addition to shoe factories, mainly woman’s footwear producers, it is characterized by the presence of manufacturers of footwear components, such as moulds, soles, heels, uppers, accessories, etc., which complete the production chain. There are also companies that produce man’s luxury footwear.
The Riviera del Brenta footwear production system consists of several companies operating there, including:
A.C.Ri.B. – founded in December 1961 as the Riviera del Brenta Shoe Manufacturers Association to represent the footwear companies. Since January 1st 2016 it has become the Sezione Calzature di Confindustria Venezia – Metropolitan Area of Venice and Rovigo. From the headquarters in Stra, for over 50 years it has been offering services and assistance to the high-quality shoe manufacturers of the Riviera del Brenta.
Consorzio Maestri Calzaturieri del Brenta, established in 1976 for the promotion around the world and for the internationalization of the companies in the Brenta District. The logo of the consorzio is famous: it reproduces the ancient Venetian confraternity seal of the Calegheri, dating back to the XIIIth century, which is used by the Riviera del Brenta footwear companies as a sign of territorial quality. The member companies are over 60, two thirds of them belong to the Province of Venice. The consorzio has been in charge of managing the “Scarpetta d’oro”, a contest of children’s pictures since 1995.
A.C.Ri.B. Servizi srl – A company offering specialized and customized services to the footwear sector.
School for Footwear Designers of the Riviera del Brenta, now Politecnico Calzaturiero – The school, founded in 1923, offers courses for modelers, product technicians, CAD operators, computer graphics, computer science; advanced training; requalification and more. It also operates as a research and technological innovation center for the sector.
It has activated and organized a laboratory for quality testing and analysis on materials, products and processes, as well as a rapid prototyping laboratory with 3D printer. Since 2016 it has activated two FabLab laboratories for the dissemination and testing of new technologies, open to the public and the enterprises.
As the legal representative of the footwear district of the Riviera del Brenta was identified the
Politecnico Calzaturiero S.C.A.R.L.
Via Venezia, 62, 35010 Vigonza PD
tel. 049 980 1111
www.politecnicocalzaturiero.it
[email protected]