Cadore

"Presented as a "very good young and experienced die-maker," he wins the trust of the partners from Belluno. "Of course, being a subcontractor in Milan with factories far away, in Cadore, actually created logistic problems, connections, there was an issue of timing," explains Mister Luxottica, when he recalls the days of the decision to leave Milan. "The proposal was made to me by one of them outlining a changeable convenience, that's why I moved." Del Vecchio finds it natural to go into partnership with what was his best customer. The entrepreneurs from Cadore set precise conditions, however: to establish a company in which they would be the majority."

"Del Vecchio turned a village that was depopulating into Luxottica Town, with the courage of someone with nothing to lose, gradually securing the best slices of the market and leaving the people of Cadore with more than a few regrets, as well as the feeling that they had not fully seized the opportunity that Frescura's dream had brought them."

"His heir, Ulisse Cargnel, was the first to also make lenses in Cadore, and in 1900 the company he led was the only one in all of Italy to manufacture the complete glasses of any type of lens. Disguised as a journalist, Cargnel visited lens factories in Germany, in Munich and Nuremberg, and in France, in Ligny, where he studied the most advanced methods for production. He made the secrets of foreign competitors his own, massively increasing production thanks to a technological breakthrough."

"Luxottica is still a small company, Del Vecchio is a paternalistic father figure who has a direct relationship with his workers. He doesn't want intermediaries, he doesn't accept threats and can be very tough. A demonstration organized by unionists from other industrial areas reaches right up to the gates. That day, in Agordo, buses of striking workers arrive from Cadore. The target is the Rizzato moped factory, Luxottica's neighbor, often in crisis; the workers' struggle there is real."

""Of course, being a subcontractor in Milan with factories far away, in Cadore, actually created logistic problems, connections, there was an issue of timing," explains Mister Luxottica, when he recalls the days of the decision to leave Milan."

"His approach to the area of Belluno during those months happens gradually. It is said that, before setting up the factory in Agordo, he worked for a few months at the Metalflex headquarters in Venas, in Cadore. They had him do everything, from delivering parcels to customers at the post office to receiving sales and purchase documents. Months of apprenticeship that allowed the man from Milan to better understand the industry from inside one of the leading factories. He didn't miss the opportunity to learn from the best. Leonardo took note of everything: names, addresses, people. He studied every detail of the industrial activity, understood who the most promising customers were, which products were the most popular. Information that would prove useful a few years later, when he would set up his own business and compete directly with his former partners."