There are very few places in the world famous for shoe manufacturing and related goods that can boast about a past as resplendently rich, varied and formative as the Northen Italy town of Vigevano. Located in the heart of Lombardy's picturesque Ticino Valley, Vigevano is steeped in traditions of creative art and craftmanship. Vigevano was a productive fusion of the aesthetic and industrious then, that over the years has formed the backbone of today's internationally-oriented footwear industry.

Vigevano first gave signs of its prominent future as a manufacturing center around the time that the town square, Piazza Ducale was being constructed. The square still retains the same look it had on the day it was completed, almost five hundred years ago. Art historians have commonly described it as an essential testimony to early renaissance town planning. The design of this charmingly anachronistic hub of Vigevano life was commisioned by the local magnate Ludovico il Moro, who later became the Duke of Milan. Its construction was entrusted to arguably the greatest architect of the age, Bramante. The square also underwent further embelishments from the hand of Leonardo da Vinci. Half a millenium later, there among the covered porticoes that surround Piazza Ducale, you will find a colorful melange of open-air cafes, luxurious fashion boutiques, and other thriving activities.

Girding this time-honoring, pulsating fulcrum of the Piazza Ducale bustles modern-day Vigevano. A progressive industrial, and post-industrial beehive, already gearing itself up to meet the limitless challenges of a frontierless Europe and new millenium, while at the same time almost self consciously maintaining a sensitive grip on its revered roots and connotations with an illustrious past.

Indeed experience, creativity and a determined insistence on quality are the three forces that drive the industry in Vigevano today. But how did this average size provincial town come to gain an international reputation for shoe production? In the 1490's Duke Ludovico il Moro chose Vigevano as the settlement best suited to become the center of silk production for his Duchy. Silk and related commercial spin-offs blossomed until a century later. Thanks to improved techniques, competition from England threw continental Europe's silk industry into disarray. It wasn't long before Vigevano's artisans were back on their feet again having switched to making handkerchiefs and other textile-based goods, including footwear. The townfolk's intrinsic industriousness ensured that prosperity rather than hardship would accompany Vigevano through the centuries. By the start of the Industrial Revolution the bulk of Vigevano's productive capacity was concentrated on the fabrication of textile and leather-based articles. Trade documents dating back to the first decades of the 19th century reveal a flourishing body of small, independent businesses operating in a number of fields. One local trade journal from 1826 mentions "Botteghe artigiane di esclusiva produzione di cappelli in feltro e paglia" (Artisan workshops specializing in the manufacturing of straw and pelt hats). This is evidence proving that the footwear and accesories were being made and sold to external markets as far back as the 16th century.

It was not until Vigevano's manufacturers came to appreciate the economic potential of an aggressive sales policy and more updated approach to marketing, that show making became the town's leading industry. This change was spurred by changes and developments in manufacturing as well as the dismantling of customs with the unification of Italy. With their roots in small, family-based cottage workshops, numerous businesses sprang up. Consequentially increased production and sales implied and necessitated the rapid adoption of state of the art technology, that might explain why Vigevano has shoe making plants and equipment all over the globe.

It was 1901 when the local engineer Antonio Ferrari proudly opened Italy's first shoemaking equipment factory. The onset of World War One boosted demand for army shoes and boots. The rapid industrialization of Italy and Europe, and the demand for fashion footwear in the 1920's made the term "Made in Vigevano" internationally synonymous with superior Italian footwear. Vigevano people are famous in Lombardy for their proverbial farsightedness, a characteristic confirmed by the fact that Italy's first industrialized plant manufacturing rubber-based shoes started production in 1929 in Vigevano. Within a matter of months it was successful, and even today it continues to achieve record productivity.

Italy's economic miracle of the fifties and sixties resulted in a dymanic entrepreneurial boom. By 1967, 870 independently run shoe houses produces 20 million pairs! These last thirty years have been a period of unbridled growth and consolidation, over these three decades Vigevano, shoes, accessories and related hardware have been exported to most world markets.

The next time you are in Milan, it is well worth it to make a trip to Vigevano, just to visit the world famous "Museo della Calzatura" - Footwear Museum - (phone: 0381-70149). This famous museum was founded by Pietro Bertolini (a pioneering industrialist). Bertolini was knighted by the onset of the 20th century industrialization and the increased mobility that it brought with it. By this time shoe manufacturers in Vigevano had to increase output to meet the needs of customers above and beyond their local market.

Many small, family-run businesses began to become involved of further markets by implying increased standards and production techniques. Thanks to their proverbial farsightedness, by 1901 there were already mechanized shoe production plants. In this same year Antonio Ferrari established the first machine-assisted workshop. 1929 was another important year in shoe production for Vigevano. In this year the town of Vigevano became Italy's first center of rubber-based shoe production. It didn't take long for this market to achieve record levels of production. In the context of its industrial development it is important not to forget footwear's extras and accessories that have played a significant role in Vigevano's industry ever since 1965.