ANTICA CUOIERIA

The history of the Soldini footwear company began in the distant 1945 in Capolona, a small town in the province of Arezzo, where the heart of the company is still located today. Gustavo Soldini, along with his brothers Giuseppe and Ermenegildo, took over the shoemaking workshop after their father’s death, forming the “Fratelli Soldini” company, starting a predominantly artisanal business producing shoes both for men and women, targeting the local markets of Arezzo and Florence. In the ‘50s, as the business expanded, a first factory was opened in Capolona, along the banks of the Arno river, followed by a second one in Anghiari. This marked the transition from artisanal to industrial production, employing over 800 workers. Since these were the years of the Italian economic boom, this led to an international expansion of the market, particularly in the United States.

In order to face Italy’s economic recession and the crisis in the footwear sector, due to the growth of emerging countries in the 1980s, the company decided to focus on internationalization and product diversification. Two new brands, Stone Haven and Soldini Sport, were launched and the production of civilian, professional, and military footwear began. Today, the brand “Soldini Professional” refers to all these diversified products range. After the fire that completely destroyed the Anghiari facility in 1994, Gustavo Soldini handed over the management of the company to the second generation, which continued the processes of investment, innovation and distribution channel diversification. In the following years, the company entered new markets, secured several industrial patents related to new natural and breathable materials and, in 2018, launched the new brand “Antica Cuoieria”.