The candidacy of Italian Shoemaking Art for the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage has brought skills that are often underestimated to the center of public debate.
The initiative invites us to look beyond the shoe as a finished object, shifting attention to the process and to the transmission of the craft.
For Moreschi, founded in Vigevano and now working to reaffirm quality, Italian craftsmanship and attention to detail, this journey represents an important signal. It is recognition of the history of thousands of artisans, businesses and territories that have helped make Italian footwear one of the most recognizable expressions of Italian know-how in the world.
Why this candidacy matters
Achieving UNESCO recognition would give a cultural framework to a body of knowledge that still lives in the everyday work of companies, artisans and districts.
The process was formally launched on June 11, 2026, in the Salone degli Arazzi of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, during the 2026 General Assembly of Assocalzaturifici, with the official establishment of the Steering Committee chaired by Giovanna Ceolini and composed of Museimpresa, CERCAL and Politecnico Calzaturiero.
The Committee, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza University, will be responsible for drafting the technical dossier and engaging communities of practitioners: pattern makers, cutters, edge stitchers, lasters and designers.
Andrea Usuelli, CEO of Moreschi, stated:
«This candidacy tells something that those who work in our industry know well: an Italian shoe is not just a product, but the result of experience, craftsmanship, research and passion. It is a heritage built over time by thousands of artisans and companies.»
At a historic moment when many manual skills risk being taken for granted, recognizing the cultural value of Italian footwear means recognizing the work of entire generations and of a supply chain that spans districts, technical schools and family businesses.
A collective recognition, not of a single brand
A well-made shoe is not valuable only for its material or the name it carries, but for the skills required to make it.
In the same way, the value of Italian footwear does not lie solely in aesthetics, but in the ability to combine function, proportion, quality of materials and attention to detail. It is a heritage that stems from a network of skills spread across multiple territories, and that lives in particular in the regions that support the proposal by virtue of their well-established shoemaking traditions, such as Lombardy and Tuscany.
Should the process conclude positively, the art of Italian footwear would be the first in the world to receive this recognition in the manufacturing sector. Until now, in fact, UNESCO titles related to fashion have concerned exclusively textile production. This is not so much a record to claim, as a sign of how footwear has so far been a craft less told than it deserves, despite the evident international recognizability of the Italian product.
Moreschi and Vigevano: a story within a larger narrative
Moreschi shares part of this extraordinary story. Founded in Vigevano in 1946, the company was born in one of the symbolic places of the country's shoemaking tradition, where footwear shaped the area's productive and social fabric for decades. It is no coincidence that Vigevano is also home to the International Footwear Museum, a public testament to a bond between the city and the craft that predates the birth of individual brands.
Andrea Usuelli stated:
«GLAM is working to bring Moreschi back to the values that made it a benchmark: quality, Italian craftsmanship and attention to detail. That is why we look very favorably on initiatives that help give proper recognition to a body of knowledge that represents one of our country's excellences.»
Returning to those values means, in practice, working on finishes that take years of experience to execute consistently, and on a construction that does not give in to industrial shortcuts. The same principle guides models such as those in the Heritage line, designed to last over time through a high number of artisanal production steps: not a nostalgic exercise, but a concrete positioning choice.