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The birth of Calzaturificio Artioli
The long-awaited factory started up in 1945, equipped with few machines seeing that Artioli was always known for his artisan workmanship. In a short time the staff grew from 7 or 8 workers to 110 and in three years was producing about 36,000 pairs annually. In the meantime an old acquaintance, Martegani, turned up and requested consultancy of Artioli who accepted, in exchange for the promised villa. "One Saturday morning out bowling - recalls Artioli - I saw a beautiful villa in front of the station at Tradate and it was love at first sight. Within eight days Martegani had bought it for me. This was naturally in exchange for my collaboration but my instructions were not followed properly and within six months we had quarrelled, so I decided to pay for the house myself, little by little. I looked for other collaborations, like consultancy for "Vaf di Verga" of Lomazzo and the aforesaid "Zenith" in Ferrara, where I sometimes went two days a week". Stefanotti died in 1955 and in 1957 other premises were built. At the end of the Fifties his son Vito joined the firm, after long experience in the United States, giving it a great boost, and Millefanti was paid off.
Andrea Artioli at working in own stand at Micam in Bologna.
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A picture of the stand Artioli at Pitti uomo in Firenze.
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The present headquarters
"Artioli" production increased and Severino had to dedicate himself entirely to his business, that then moved to the present site in Tradate, concentrating exclusively on the manufacture of footwear, belts and leather goods for men. Artioli's memoirs continues: "I still remember the orderly during my military service who, seeing me go on leave wearing one of "my" pairs, shouted: "Artioli, go and change those shoes!" - as he considered them too fine for a soldier". In fact the elegance was already apparent, the footwear that was to enhance the feet of some of the world's most sophisticated men was distinguished from the start. In all, a life well lived for footwear, gladdened by the arrival of four children, Carla, Vito, Liana and Romano. His son Vito and grandson Andrea have followed in the footsteps of this vital and ingenious man, carrying on the inheritance well. Unfortunately his beloved wife Ada passed away four years ago, leaving an expression of sadness in the eyes of Severino Artioli in rememberance of a lifetime of love. His mother Maria, also, who was lucky enough to see her son become successful and spent her last years in a "small hotel" he bought for her, where up to the end she chose to continue working as cook. Really a story of another era, simple but fascinating like the man who today still maintains a fresh youthfulness and indomitable spirit: "My work philosophy has always been to create, never copy. My son Vito has also been very able in expanding my business to an international level, designing high fashion collections and selling them to the best shops worldwide. It is not for me to say my shoes are beautiful but I can say they are undoubtedly the most expensive in the world" - says Severino Artioli proudly. One thing is certain, this is one of the greatest stories of Italian footwear.
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