State: Italy
Region: Veneto
Province: Vicenza
Area: 66,15 m
Population: 38.480 (30/06/04)
Elevation: Between 141 and 1694 m
Postal code: 36015
Districts:
1- Centro, S. Croce, A. Rossi
2- Stadio, Poleo, Aste, S. Martino
3- SS. Trinità, Piane, Resecco
4- Magrè, M. Magrè, Liviera, Cà Trenta
5- Giavenale
6- Tretto

How to arrive in Schio

Schio is about 30 km far from Vicenza. You can come to Schio by train. There is a railway station in the city centre. If you prefer driving, there is the motorway A31 Valdastico exit Thiene-Schio.
The nearest airport is Valerio Catullo in Verona. Other airports are Venice and Treviso.

History

Schio is situated in the North of Vicenza and in the West of the Lake of Garda. It is surrounded by the Prealps, known as ‘Little Dolomites.’
Its name comes from Latin: escletum was a wood of oaks and it was first used in a document of some Benedictines from Vicenza. The first settlements were around two old hills, where now there are respectively the ruins of an old castle and a majestic neoclassical cathedral.
In the 13th century there were craftsmen, millers and weavers. By the 12th century Schio had become an important centre of woollen manufacturing, which prospered a lot.
Schio is now an industrial town thanks to Alessandro Rossi, who founded the biggest Italian woollen firm (Lanerossi) in 19th century. Rossi also arranged the building of houses, nurseries, schools, theatres and gardens for his workers. The most important textile factories in Schio were Lanerossi, Conte and Cazzola. Schio was called ‘Manchester of Italy’, because it was the focal point of the northern wool trade like the British city.

Sights

The Weaver’s Monument
The Weaver’s Monument was erected in 1879 by Alessandro Rossi who dedicated it to his workers. The inhabitants of Schio call it L’«Omo» (a dialect word for ‘man’). It is statue representing a man who holds proudly in one hand the shuttle of his loom, the emblem of his craft and indeed of the whole textile industry.

The Castle
The oldest part of the city’s historical centre developed around a hillock where the Maltraversi were Counts of Vicenza and lords of this land until 1311. The Castle was demolished in 1514. All that remains nowadays is an embattled tower.

Toaldi-Capra building
This building dates from the 15th century, perhaps even earlier; some frescoes have been recovered in the interior, but the building has undergone many changes. It first belonged to the Toaldi family; it then passed to Enrico Capra, a noble from Vicenza, before becoming the property of the Town Council of Schio. It was, in fact, the Town Hall until 1913. It was recovered and carefully restored in 1981, and now houses the civic Musical Institute as a centre for cultural activities.

Pasini brothers’ monument
The geologist and politician Lodovico Pasini (b. 1804) was elected secretary of the Venetian institute of Science, and was senator of the new Kingdom of Italy, as well as Minister for Public Works. Valentino Pasini (b. 1806), a jurist and economist, had a post in the Government of Venice in 1848; he was, moreover, Ambassador at many European courts, and became a deputy of the Turin Parliament.

Town Hall
The Municipal administration is based in the 19th-century Palazzo Garbin, the former residence of the homonymous family, wool industrialists from that period. The richness and magnificence of the rooms witness the degree of development the wood industry had reached in Schio almost two centuries ago.

The “High Factory”
The “High Factory” (1862) which belongs to the Rossi woollen mills, is an emblem of Schio’s industrial architecture, and a national document in the history of this industry in Italy.

The Jacquard Garden
In Via Pasubio, opposite the Rossi woollen mill is the entrance and railings of the Jacquard Garden. This is an exotic-fantastic garden with artificial grottoes, cliffs, rustic stairways and statuary with characters from fables. On one side of the garden the elegant façade of the Jacquard Theatre (1869) can be seen, embellished with terra cotta medallions of famous personalities from Schio’s past.

Schio’s twinnings:

Landshut (Germany)
Kaposvar (Hungary)
Petange (Luxemburg)

Accomodation:

Hotel Da Beppino
Cementi road, 26 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 670139
E-Mail ristbeppino@tiscalinet.it
Single room/double room with toilet € 21/47 Euro

Hotel Da Marco
Cerbaro road, 1 (locality “Tretto”) – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 653051
Single room/double room with toilet € 20/35 Euro (breakfast included)

Dalla Costa hotel
Bosco di tretto road, 14 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 635057
Double room with toilet € 44 Euro

Hotel Eden
Industria street, 33 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 670044
Url. http://www.hoteledenschio.com
E-Mail info@hoteledenschio.com
Single room/double room with toilet € 54/75 Euro

Hotel Monteverdi
Maraschin road, 71 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 521793
Single room/double room with toilet € 45/70 Euro (breakfast included)

Hotel Nuovo Miramonti
Marconi road, 3 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 529900
E-Mail info@hotelmiramonti.com
Single room/double room with toilet € 80/109 Euro

Hotel golden bridge
Golden bridge road, 19/21 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 670945
Single room/double room with toilet € 31/51,65 Euro (breakfast included)

Hotel Ponte di Liviera
via Ponte di Liviera, 4 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 671028
E-Mail p.liviera@pontediliviera.com
Single room/double room with toilet € 44/62 Euro

B&B The attic
Leogretta alley, 6 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 519084
Cell. 328 0883567
Web site http://www.bblasoffitta.it
E-Mail info@bblasoffitta.it
Double room with toilet € 35/45 Euro
Double room with extra beds € 45/80 Euro

Hotel Noris
Industria’s street, 125 – 36015 Schio (VI)
Tel. (0039)0445 575535
E-Mail info@hotelnoris.it
Single room/double room with toilet € 59,39 Euro (breakfast included)/ 90,38 Euro

Il lavoro di traduzione in inglese è stato svolto da Morelli Giada, mentre la traduzione in tedesco da Sottoriva Gloria, Mazzon Giulia, Viero Silvia (alunne di III B e III C dell'anno scolastico 2004-2005 della scuola media P. Maraschin) con supervisione della prof.ssa Michela Cason.