{"id":17107,"date":"2026-11-03T16:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T15:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/italian-footwear-knocks-on-unescos-door-italian-craftsmanship-at-stake\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T16:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T15:42:15","slug":"italian-footwear-knocks-on-unescos-door-italian-craftsmanship-at-stake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/italian-footwear-knocks-on-unescos-door-italian-craftsmanship-at-stake\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian footwear knocks on UNESCO\u2019s door: Italian craftsmanship at stake"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"articleWrapper _hero-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"articleContent _hero-content-body\">\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1ddala6tn0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Today, the crews of large cruise ships want a Neapolitan pizza chef on board. Something has indeed changed since UNESCO recognised \u2018the Art of the Neapolitan Pizza Chef\u2019. Note: not the pizza itself, which remains a recipe. The hands that make it. And with those hands, the demand to learn the trade has grown, to the point that the majority of applications come from abroad, from those who nevertheless wish to train in Italy. What does this have to do with footwear?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttchc20\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">On 11 June 2026, in the Salone degli Arazzi at the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, during the&nbsp;<b>2026 General Assembly of Assocalzaturifici<\/b>,&nbsp;<b>the application process for the Art of Italian Footwear to be included on UNESCO\u2019s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage<\/b>&nbsp;was presented. The meeting, moderated by Nicola Porro, formalised the Promoting Committee: it is chaired by Giovanna Ceolini of&nbsp;<b>Assocalzaturifici<\/b>&nbsp;and comprises&nbsp;<b>Museimpresa<\/b>,&nbsp;<b>CERCAL<\/b>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<b>Politecnico Calzaturiero<\/b>. The initiative, promoted by the Ministry, entrusts the Committee and the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza University with the task of drafting the dossier and engaging the communities of practitioners, a key element of the 2003 UNESCO Convention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttchc60\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttchc80\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">\u201cItalian footwear represents one of the most recognisable expressions of our production system,\u201d said Minister&nbsp;<b>Adolfo Urso<\/b>: supporting the nomination \u201cmeans strengthening a production model that sets Italy apart in the world\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"embed\" data-doc-label=\"Incorpora\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqtt8ou70\">\n<div doc-html=\"html\"><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q2EsrXcbbS0?si=EWm8uLyT1m__vRiT\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqtt8fig0\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqtt8fih0\"><b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">A HERITAGE TO BE PRESERVED.&nbsp;<\/span><\/b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">In addition to Urso, speakers included&nbsp;<b>Antonio Calabr\u00f2<\/b>, president of Museimpresa, via video message,&nbsp;<b>Marco Amato<\/b>, vice-president of Museimpresa,&nbsp;<b>Serena Musolesi<\/b>, CEO of Cercal, and&nbsp;<b>Alice Marcato<\/b>, technical director of the Polytechnic of Footwear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatf0\"><b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">GENERATIONS OF EXCELLENCE.<\/span><\/b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;The second panel brought together the Minister of Education and Merit&nbsp;<b>Giuseppe Valditara<\/b>,&nbsp;<b>Federico Eichberg<\/b>, Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, and&nbsp;<b>Giovanni Brugnoli<\/b>, President of the Fondazione Imprese e Competenze per il Made in Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatj0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatk0\"><b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">THE ITALIAN ART OF SHOEMAKING: CULTURE, MEMORY, IDENTITY.<\/span><\/b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;The concluding panel featured&nbsp;<b>Pier Luigi Petrillo<\/b>, director of the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza,&nbsp;<b>Giovanna Ferragamo Gentile<\/b>, president of the Ferragamo Foundation,&nbsp;<b>Marco Nocivelli<\/b>, vice-president of Confindustria with responsibility for Industrial Policy and Made in Italy, Minister Plenipotentiary&nbsp;<b>Filippo La Rosa<\/b>&nbsp;(Ministry of Foreign Affairs),<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatl0\"><b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Davide Rampello<\/span><\/b><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">, cultural manager and lecturer, and sociologist&nbsp;<b>Francesco Morace<\/b>, president of Future Concept Lab.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatm0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatn0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Here is the point: the nomination&nbsp;<b>does not defend an object, but rather a know-how<\/b>. The 2003 Convention does not reward the most beautiful product, but the community that passes it down. Nor does it ask for uniqueness: the opposite is true, because the more a tradition engages with others, the more it is valued.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatp0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Identity, memory and culture risk becoming worn out if they remain overused words or are left to the ravages of time. The dossier serves to prevent this. Petrillo pointed out that the recognition concerns&nbsp;<b>a living system of practices and communities<\/b>, with economic, cultural and professional implications. Giovanna Ferragamo Gentile highlighted the continuity between the creative, technical and productive dimensions: \u2018My father [Salvatore Ferragamo, ed.] would sketch the design on the wooden last because he knew that, before being beautiful, the shoe had to fit comfortably.\u2019 Nocivelli and La Rosa emphasised local storytelling and soft power: quality opens up the market, but it is the story that makes people choose that shoe over another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatr0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The key issue running through the supply chain remains: who will take up the baton? The sector admits it: it has communicated poorly, allowing the factory to sound like a fallback option. The bid is therefore linked to human capital. \u201c<b>Schools and technical-vocational training are called upon to build the skills that will underpin the future of Made in Italy<\/b>. We must strengthen the link between education and work and guide young people towards pathways that combine quality, specialisation and opportunity,\u2019 observed Valditara. Footwear schools, established within the districts, now teach cutting and assembly alongside CAD, 3D printing and eco-design: from the manual to the digital, without one excluding the other. It is precisely the vocational schools and the story of an advanced, fascinating and innovative industrial sector\u2014one that offers excellent opportunities for growth and career development\u2014that are tasked with attracting new generations who are well-prepared and capable of keeping alive a tradition that is vital for Italy, including in terms of exports and the balance of trade.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatt0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdatu0\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The project has garnered the support of the main regions in the sector \u2014 Lombardy, Veneto, Marche, Puglia, Campania, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany \u2014 a sign of its national scope. Rampello saw in it a synthesis of tradition and innovation; Morace turned the usual formula on its head: true tradition is not preserved, but is passed on, generation after generation, whilst also emphasising the value of the Italian Factor and the need to create new forms of generational engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdau00\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdau20\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">In closing,&nbsp;<b>Giovanna Ceolini<\/b>, President of Assocalzaturifici and the Promoting Committee, highlighted the significance of the initiative: \u2018This proposal stems from a desire to recognise the cultural value of a heritage that belongs to the entire country. Italian footwear combines technical expertise, regional identity and the ability to evolve over time. It is an opportunity to showcase a wealth of knowledge that forms an essential part of our manufacturing identity.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdau40\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdau50\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">Let\u2019s return to the cruise ships. That pizza chef is no longer in demand today because someone has found a magic recipe, but because his value has been recognised and dignity has been restored to his trade. The challenge taken up in Rome is the same: to demonstrate that even for a shoe, hands remain the instrument of intelligence, and the individual and their know-how remain crucial.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text body\" doc-editable=\"text\" data-component-id=\"doc-1jqttdau60\"><span data-text-edit-color=\"\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\">The initiative launches a national project aimed at&nbsp;<b>promoting the heritage of skills, traditions and manufacturing capabilities<\/b>&nbsp;that characterise the Italian supply chain.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Rome, during the Assocalzaturifici Assembly, the Promotional Committee for the nomination of Italian shoemaking as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage was officially established. The aim is to safeguard and pass on this craftsmanship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arsutoriastudio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}