Schio

Schio
Schio
Comune
	Comune di Schio
	Duomo ("Saint Peter" Church)
	Schio within the Province of Vicenza
	Location of Schio
Country	Italy
Region	Veneto
Province	Vicenza (VI)
Frazioni	Aste, Cabrelle, Giavenale, Monte Magrè, Piane, Poleo, Santa Caterina, Santa Maria, San Rocco, Sant'Ulderico, Magrè, Liviera, Cà Trenta, Ss. Trinità, Santa Croce
Government
• Mayor	Valter Orsi
Area
• Total	67 km2 (26 sq mi)
Elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population (December 31, 2011)
• Total	39 688
Demonym	Scledensi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	36015
Dialing code	0445
Patron saint	St. Peter
Saint day	June 29
Website	Official website

Schio is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza (region of Veneto, northern Italy) situated North of Vicenza and East of the Lake of Garda. It is surrounded by the Little Dolomites (Italian Prealps) and Mount Pasubio.

History

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.

By the 12th century Schio had become an important centre of prosperous wool manufacturing. The city was ruled by the Venetian Maltraversi family until 1311.

Schio is now an industrial town thanks to Alessandro Rossi, who founded the biggest Italian wool firm (Lanerossi) in the 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.

Main sights

The Weaver’s Monument, 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.
A tower of the Castle, demolished in 1514.
San Francesco (St. Francis’) church, dating from the early 15th century. The church is now part of a complex of buildings, superimposed in time, which were used formerly by the Monastery dei Frati Minori (1437-1806) and then by Schio’s civil hospital (the Baratto Institute 1807-1959) and now a home for the elderly.
The little church of St. Mary in the Valley, originally a column erected in 1511 after a plague. It became a church in 1580.
Toaldi-Capra Palace. This building dates from the 15th century or earlier; some frescoes have been recovered in the interior. It first belonged to the Toaldi family; it then passed to Enrico Capra, a noble from Vicenza, before becoming 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.