Italian sport shoes design - EN

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Fondazione Sportsystem is a non-profit organization established in 2022 with the merger of the ‘Fondazione Museo dello Scarpone e della Calzatura Sportiva’ and the ‘Associazione dello Sportsystem’. It is located in the charming Villa Zuccareda Binetti, an architectural gem surrounded by a large historic park on the slopes of the hill overlooking Montebelluna. It has amongst its main objectives the creation and promotion of educational, cultural, and social initiatives, that contribute to the growth and development of the industrial and entrepreneurial culture of the Sportsystem District. The Foundation promotes the development of a sustainable vision through up-skilling programs and the sharing of innovative research, products, and processes related to eco-design and the circular economy. For decades, the Foundation served as a meeting point and hub for companies, operators, and specialists in the field of footwear, clothing, and sports equipment, with a particular focus on the mountain and outdoor sectors. Going beyond the geographical boundaries of the District, the Foundation acted as a link between local, national, and international bodies.

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Moreover, it continues to promote, preserve, and manage the tangible and intangible heritage of the Sportsystem District through its Museum. Formerly known as the “Museo dello Scarpone e della Calzatura Sportiva”, it was founded in 1984 by a visionary group of local entrepreneurs who decided to preserve and enhance the history and highly specialized knowledge of the area, which they and their companies, represented. This district museum, unique in the world thanks to the number of local brands involved, was run for over twenty years by Prof. Aldo Durante. The Foundation's collection tells the story and evolution of craftsmanship, design, and technological innovation in the district's footwear production, enabling it to serve as a stimulus and inspiration for new generations. The collection consists of an archive including products, catalogue, patents, photographs, specialist theses, and a library with sports magazines and journals.

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The Sportsystem territory, overlooked to the west by the Monte Grappa massif, bordered by the Asolano hills, enriched by the presence of Montello, and extending to the Piave River in the east and the upper Treviso plain in the south, is characterised by unparalleled landscapes and culture. The area is a succession of small villages, cultivated lands, and industrial settlements. Since 2021, part of this territory has been included in the UNESCO MAB Monte Grappa Biosphere Reserve, which promotes "sustainable development" by balancing ecosystem and biodiversity conservation with sustainable development strategies. Alongside this, there is the Montello area, a hill with karstic features such as caves and springs. Montello still harbours some wooded areas that retain the dense vegetation, consisting of mainly oak, ash, and hornbeam trees, that once covered the entire hill, previously known as the "Montello forest". By contrast, the plain (the northern extension of the Po Valley) is heavily urbanised and has been recognized as a "diffused city" system.

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This stretch of land had already been identified as ideal for human settlement in prehistoric times. In addition to finds from the ancient Venetian civilization, remnants of Roman settlements, and fascinating mediaeval buildings, the area is dotted with famous Villas, testifying to the significance it has held over the centuries. The Republic of Venice protected the wooded area, using its timber for shipbuilding. Noble Venetian families spent holidays in their villas and managed important agricultural estates, propagating some of the crops that have made the province of Treviso famous. In the more recent past, the area became the setting for some of the most dramatic military events of the 20th century. The liveliest historical, artistic, and cultural centres are Montebelluna, known in particular for its historic market and the concentration of Sportsystem-related businesses; and Asolo, one of Italy's “Most Beautiful Villages”, a charming, rich, and sumptuous Renaissance court, described by the Italian poet Giosuè Carducci as the "city of a hundred horizons” thanks to its almost uninterrupted panoramic views.

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The Sportsystem district encompasses an area that is historically recognized for the highly specialized production of technical and sports footwear. Officially recognized by the Veneto Region as the "Technical Footwear and Sports Articles District of Asolo and Montebelluna", it currently extends over the area of fifteen municipalities in the province of Treviso and one in the province of Belluno, covering a total of approximately 355 square kilometers. The organization of the district is similar to a galaxy; there are bodies of different size, structure, and nature that are mutually attracted and interconnected, so much so that they are considered a single entity. Within it, we find a wide variety of industrial activity including: finished product companies (footwear, clothing, and sports equipment), subcontractors specializing in material processing and component manufacturing, machinery manufacturers, and design studios.

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There are also other entities, not necessarily of an economic nature add, that contribute to maintaining the district: incubator spaces, trading associations, training institutions, and cultural organizations. Thanks to the synergy among the industrial players and related entities in the district, a wide variety of products are designed, manufactured and commercialised; ski boots, après-ski boots, trekking, mountaineering and climbing shoes, soccer, tennis, cycling and motorcycling shoes, skates and ice skates, mountain and technical clothing, skis, sneakers, city shoes, safety shoes, and orthopaedic shoes.

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The shoemaking tradition of the Montebelluna area likely originated from the flourishing trade within the Republic of Venice. Montebelluna was a part of the Republic from the 14th century and was therefore subject to the rules of the guild of “calegheri e zavatteri” (shoemakers and cobblers), until the fall of the “Serenissima” Republic in 1797.By the early 19th century, the area was already recognized as a growing shoemaking hub, with ten shoemakers recorded in Montebelluna in 1808. During this period, the items which weremost requested and locally produced were “gallozze”, inexpensive footwear for farming and mountain use, featuring thick wooden soles and leather uppers. They were entirely made by hand using traditional tools and techniques until the introduction of the first sewing machines between 1860 and 1870. These tools, expensive and imported, remained rare, and most production continued to be artisanal. Throughout the 19th century, specialisation in shoemaking grew significantly. A municipal census from 1873 showed that in Montebelluna’s population of 8,000, there were 55 shoemakers, second highest in employment only to agriculture.

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This number continued to rise in the following decades, leading historian Augusto Serena to write that by the early 20th century, there were around 200 workshops in Montebelluna. During World War I Montebelluna undergoes a near-total halt in production, while from the Thirties, it began to leverage the skills acquired in making sturdy work shoes, investing in the production of mountain and ski boots. Between the two World Wars, some of the most important companies from what would later be recognized as the Sportsystem area (such as the shoe factories “l’Alpina”, “Calzaturificio Cornuda” and “La Dolomite”) were already offering a wide range of shoes for various sports activities such as mountaineering, skiing, hunting, golf, skating, and football. Starting in the Seventies, the production area gained international prominence, establishing some of the most prestigious brands in the industry and starting to sponsor the world’s top athletes, clubs, and national teams. The Sportsystem District became a case study, analysed and emulated as an example of how an entrepreneurial network can generate knowledge, innovation, and wealth.

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The title of this section recalls the natural environment of the upper Treviso area, where early shoe types produced in the Sportsystem territory were developed and used. These were predominantly working shoes for agricultural use that, given the geographical context, needed to be both functional on flat terrain and on the slopes of local hills and Pre-Alps. These first essential shoes, used for activity on any type of natural terrain had leather uppers and wooden soles with early, rudimentary metal nails. This variety of footwear continued to develop over the decades and is now commonly identified with the term "outdoor”. In addition to the comfort and durability of the upper, which, since the 1960s, has seen the introduction of increasingly innovative materials to replace leather, these shoes share a careful development of the sole. Until the early 20th century, soles were handcrafted, followed by a period of about twenty years, where local shoemakers produced them by layering leather pieces sewn together with customizable nail patterns. However, in the second half of the 1930s, there was a fundamental technological advancement - vulcanized rubber soles began to be applied; a material that offered greater wear resistance and grip safety.

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Thanks to innovation, different types of footwear were developed based on the requirements of the outdoor activity including mountaineering, trekking, and hiking. These activities require specialized technical products due to the high risk of slips and falls resulting in injuries. In the case of mountaineering, they must be suitable for extreme temperatures, and have the possibility of adding crampons for challenging climbing sections. Climbing, sport derived from mountaineering, has as its goal the achievement of a target along increasingly difficult routes. To ensure grip and sensitivity on the rock face, climbing shoes feature uppers and soles only a few millimeters thick. To ensure runners' safety, grip, and stability, while running along uneven trails and footpaths, trail running requires durable shoes with very robust yet lightweight and flexible soles. Moreover rescue and protection activities require footwear that not only incorporates the typical characteristics of mountain products, but also meets safety standards or specific regulatory certifications.

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The "snow and ice" section includes all those disciplines commonly identified as "winter sports" or whose common denominator is cold weather. The best known are alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, and ice hockey. Practicing these sports usually requires sliding equipment, specialized and highly technical gear, and clothing. In addition to winter sports, mountain activities such as high-altitude mountaineering and all those non-sporting practices that would remain inaccessible without technical equipment due to harsh climatic conditions are included. The Sportsystem District, since its origins, and partially thanks to its geographic location at the foot of the Dolomites, is specialized in the production of footwear suitable for cold, snowy, and icy climates. These are an evolution of the traditional mountain shoe, which began to be developed after World War I with different characteristics depending on the type of activity to be performed. Another typical footwear produced is the ski boot, which evolved from a hybrid mountaineering-skiing boot used until the mid-1930s into a shoe with internal padding and adjustments, such as the insertion of various types of insoles, specifically designed to increase the skier's comfort and performance.

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By the late 1960s, the first models made with plastic materials appeared, giving rise to the modern ski boot. Then there is the high-altitude mountaineering boot, which has been completely renewed thanks to the development of synthetic materials with much higher performance than leather and fur (traditionally used to make these boots), both in terms of lightness and waterproofing, breathability, and thermal insulation. Another common type is the après-ski boot, whose demand increased with the growing popularity of winter activities and the fame of Alpine and North American ski resorts. This type of footwear was revolutionized between the late 1960s and early 1970s, once again thanks to the use of new synthetic materials and the creation of futuristic designs. Finally, the ice skate, originally a simple metal blade attached to a wooden sole tied to a shoe, gradually evolved into a single leather-boot-sole-blade system, eventually leading to the modern skate made of plastic material with an integrated blade.

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This section groups disciplines that involve the use of mechanical devices and can take place on both artificial and natural surfaces: cycling, motorcycling, and car racing. Beginning in the Sixties, numerous companies within the Sportsystem District began producing footwear for these sports. Initially, these were produced in small quantities and were more of a sideline to the production of ski boots or mountaineering shoes. However, over time, these sports shoes became the main business for many companies. In fact, those that produced both ski boots and shoes for other disciplines found themselves at a crossroads: they had to decide whether to innovate and specialise in the ski sector by using plastic materials or maintain production linked to working with leather, hide, and rubber to take advantage of the increased popularity of cycling, motorcycling, and car racing.

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Over the decades, the models developed for these disciplines have undergone significant changes due to technological innovations in equipment and changes in the practice of the sports themselves; in particular, cycling until the Eighties required very simple footwear with thin leather uppers and stiff leather soles, designed for use with pedals equipped with straps or toe clips to secure the foot. Today, given the development of various disciplines (track, road and cyclocross), cycling shoes can be divided into two main categories: those for use with clip-in systems and those for flat pedals. The former, thanks to cleats positioned on the front of a rigid sole, create a foot-bicycle unit with the pedal that allows for better energy transfer; the latter, typically with sturdier uppers and soles, are designed to allow more freedom of movement and can also be used for walking (a necessity for disciplines such as cyclocross, gravel, or MTB).

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Historically, knee-high tight leather boots were used for motorcycling. While, since the late Forties, those engaging in this new discipline of motorcross had favoured heavy military or mountain boots for their extreme durability. These two types of footwear are the precursors of today's products, which include: models for track speed disciplines that are lighter, snug-fitting, and allow maximum pedal sensitivity; off-road models for non-compacted soils, which are robust and feature reinforcement systems to protect against impacts from rocks or other hazards; and touring models, which are generally more comfortable and versatile. Initially, car racing did not require specific footwear, and drivers often wore simple leather moccasins. It was only in the mid-1960s that ankle-high models began to be produced with leather and ultra-thin leather soles to maximise pedal sensitivity, which still serve as the basis for modern racing shoes.

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This second “tracks and fields” section concerns a variety of individual and team sports played on both artificial and natural surfaces: tennis, basketball, athletics, and football (soccer). Footwear for the first three sports can be traced back to a common ancestor, the plimsoll, a type of sport footwear with a fabric upper and natural rubber sole, produced in Britain from the mid-19th century. When these shoes arrived in the USA, they became known as sneakers. Designed at first for indoor use, sneakers quickly became popular for all sports activities. However, in the early 20th century, as the number of athletes increased and new sports disciplines emerged, requiring footwear with different characteristics to improve performance and safety, companies began designing specific shoes for each sport activity. The manufacturing industry of the Sportsystem District entered this field of production starting from the late Sixties. Local production grew in reputation especially from the Seventies, when the district’s craftsmen applied the skills acquired

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over decades of work and mountain shoes production to create completely new sport lines. Some of these shoes have since become iconic both for their technical performance and for their style, becoming true emblems of the “Made in Italy”. Some of the most famous athletes and international teams have been provided with these products, making them even more popular. Different is the origin of football shoes. It can be traced back to the early 19th century when heavy leather ankle-high boots, equipped with iron studs on the soles to prevent slipping on the ground, began to be produced in Britain. The sturdiness of the footwear was essential to protect the foot from impacts during the game. It wasn't until the first half of the 20th century that footballers began wearing boots more similar to today's, and it is only after World War II that significant technological advancements were made thanks to the introduction of synthetic materials to replace traditional ones.

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Certain local brands had a number of products in the international football boot market in the first half of the 20th century. Nonetheless, it is only from the Seventies, and increasingly in the Eighties, that local companies began producing some of the most important and popular football boots in history. Moreover, these manufacturers established significant collaborations with some of the greatest footballers in the world, leading to the development of lower, lighter, and more flexible boots improving both comfort and performance. Despite strong international competition, the Sportsystem District is still recognized today as a center of excellence for football boot production.

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