27 Oct The production of socks in Brescia
The origins of the city of Brescia date back to over 3200 years ago.
Its artistic and architectural heritage is conspicuous: its monuments from the Roman and Lombard periods have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
At the dawn of the twentieth century Brescia appeared to be a modern city, equipped with services and infrastructures in step with the times such as a new aqueduct, the ice factory, electric lighting and electric tramways.
In this city, after a long family history in the sector, I restarted my business in the world of socks.
Several years earlier, in 1945, the Lonati Group originated, created by Francesco Lonati.
At the beginning, the Group devoted itself exclusively to the production of circular machines for men’s and children’s socks (single cylinder). This allowed the founder and his very few collaborators to acquire a growing technical experience, which allowed them to enter then, and not without difficulty, in the number of the most courageous entrepreneurs who were able to assert themselves despite the difficult period of post-war economic recovery.
Francesco Lonati, an industry captain from Brescia, has been able to establish himself worldwide in the production of sock machines starting from scratch. The famous entrepreneur from Brescia is the architect of absolute world leadership in the field of hosiery machinery.
The history of the Lonati Group is fascinating and continues today.
However, the production of socks in Brescia started much earlier.
In 1923 Italo Facenti, my grandfather, started the Calzificio Italo Facenti, a hosiery manufacturing company. He took this step with the valid help of my grandmother, a tireless worker.
Italo Facenti distinguished himself with the choice of cutting-edge machinery and with the creation of the CIF brand which had the head of a bulldog dog as its logo.
In 1948 his son Luigi, my father, opened a new production phase oriented towards originality and creativity, thanks to his preparation and technical experience.
The success of this new phase also came about thanks to my mother’s organizational skills, and her foresight in evolving the company to respond to the pressing needs of the market.
Luigi innovates the collections with brightly patterned socks that soon become a distinctive element of the Facenti brand, strongly believing in technological innovation that leads him to constantly update the fleet.
The following years will see more and more the sock as a central and indispensable element of style, thanks to the consecration of this item of clothing by the market.
The production of socks in Brescia reaches today, passing through many stories of sacrifice and rebirth.
Even today, in fact, the sector is very active in Brescia and in the surrounding areas.