Museum
The Fondazione Sportsystem Museum preserves and exhibits artefacts linked to the world of the design, technological innovation and manufacturing of sporting footwear, and which best epitomise the renowned expertise of the Sportsystem Manufacturing District.
It was founded in 1984 by a group of visionary local entrepreneurs who wished to safeguard and showcase the heritage and highly specialised technical expertise of a region that they themselves and their businesses represented, and also by Professor Durante, who served as museum director for over twenty years.
Display
The exhibition currently boasts around 400 exhibits, displayed across several rooms, which together showcase the collective history of the last two centuries of the area. From a historical, technical and industrial perspective the museum’s most prized exhibits include:
- The first written evidence of the presence of footwear manufacturing in Montebelluna, dated 1808. It shows 10 footwear manufacturers and artisans officially registered as paying taxes to Montebelluna Town Council;
- One of the first models of ski boots produced in the Sportsystem District, dating from the late 1930s – early 1940s;
- The original footwear from the first successful ascent of K2 by the Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio in 1954, crafted by the La Dolomite shoe factory;
- One of the first ski boots to feature an entirely plastic shell, moulded by Nordica in 1970;
- A series of highly innovative footwear prototypes that ultimately never reached production;
- A display featuring autographed footwear from great sporting champions, including: Marc Girardelli and Anita Wachter’s ski boots, Luis Barros and Max Biaggi’s motorcycle boots, Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi’s football boots, Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker’s tennis shoes, and Mario Cipollini’s cycling shoes – to name just a few.
Heritage
Products
2205 pairs of footwear, a large portion of which are for winter sports, and 570 examples of tools and sewing machines from the 19th and 20th centuries
International Patents
Most of which date from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s
Catalogues
Published by the District’s most famous businesses and their main international competitors dating from the 1930s to the early 2000s
Dissertations
Addressing issues related to different aspects of the Sportsystem District or companies and/or products created by them
Magazines
A library containing specialist magazines and a range of publications
Opening Hours
The Museum is open from Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 1.00pm, Thursday and Friday from 2.30pm to 6.00pm (closed August and national holidays).
Special openings are available by appointment for groups and schools.
Guided tours, including on specific themes, can be booked in Italian and English.
The Museum also holds educational workshops for schools and groups of children and young people aged 4 to 16.
