1,000 historical trademarks:
Elevatori at the event in Rome
To mark National Made in Italy Day, the official event “1,000 Historic Brands for the Future of Made in Italy” was held in Rome on 15 April 2026 at Palazzo Piacentini. The event was organised by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, in collaboration with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office and the Association of Italian Historical Trademarks.
The initiative provided an opportunity to celebrate the milestone of 1,000 Italian Historical Trademark registered in the Italian Special Register and to highlight the contribution these companies make to the country’s economic, cultural and regional development.
Elevatori Magazine, a Historical Trademark since 2024 and a member of the Association of Italian Historical Trademark since 2025, was also invited to the event, which was attended by editor-in-chief Maddalena Parotelli and editor Elena Colombetti.
Representatives from the companies attending the event in Rome. Among them were members of the editorial team from Elevatori Magazine.
The event opened with institutional remarks from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, followed by a speech from the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Senator Adolfo Urso, focusing on the role of public policy in promoting ‘Made in Italy’ and historical trademarks as part of our industrial heritage and national identity.
“Today we celebrate the work of generations of entrepreneurs who have helped to build our country’s economic and manufacturing identity,” said Minister Adolfo Urso. “Reaching the milestone of 1,000 Italian Historical Trademarks is a significant achievement. We are talking about a milestone that goes beyond symbolic value and confirms the vitality of our industrial and manufacturing heritage, capable of combining tradition, quality, innovation and competitiveness, demonstrating how Italy’s manufacturing history is not a relic of the past, but a strategic lever for tackling the challenges of an increasingly complex global context.”
During the event, the new financial instrument for the development of 000 Italian Historical Trademarks was also presented. Introduced as part of the annual law on small and medium-sized enterprises, it represents an evolution of the Business Safeguard Fund and offers new opportunities for the growth, consolidation and strengthening of production chains.
A speech by Massimo Caputi (pictured, right), President of the Association of Italian Historical Trademarks. With him, from left: Gianluca Brozzetti, Vice-President of the Association of Italian Historical Trademarks, and Adolfo Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy.
“Against a backdrop of protectionist tensions and new international agreements such as Mercosur,” commented Massimo Caputi, president of the Association of Italian Historical Trademarks, “Historical Trademarks are among the most vulnerable assets: without adequate safeguard clauses in European treaties to certify their authenticity, we risk an erosion of our identity and the value of the ‘Made in Italy’ label. In this regard, the launch of the new Financial Instrument designed to foster the growth of Historic Brands marks a paradigm shift, transforming it from a defensive tool into a lever for industrial development. Thanks to the possibility of co-investing in intra-sector acquisitions, we are promoting the emergence of clusters of solid and competitive Historic Brands, capable of strengthening supply chains and keeping value anchored to the local area.”
During the morning, the report “Italy’s 1,000 Historical Trademarks: Figures, Regions and Prospects for the Industrial Heritage of ‘Made in Italy’” was also presented, providing an analysis of the economic contribution, geographical distribution and development prospects of companies holding a Historical Trademark. The Special Register of Italian Historical Trademarks, with its 1,000 registered Historical Trademarks, represents an ecosystem comprising 780 owner companies, which generate a total turnover of €93.6 billion and provide employment for 363,201 workers. These are some of the figures highlighted in the report.
The beating heart of this system, according to the report presented at Palazzo Piacentini, is represented by the ‘4 A’s’ of Made in Italy (Agri-food, Automation, Apparel, Furniture), which alone are worth €76.1 billion (81.3% of the total economic value recorded), with the agri-food sector clearly dominating (€53.7 billion).
“The Report clearly highlights that Historical Trademarks are not only an asset of national identity, but a structural component of the Italian economy. We are talking about businesses rooted in their local areas, capable of generating economic value and employment and of holding their own in the main Made in Italy supply chains,” explained Gianluca Brozzetti, director and vice-president of the Association of Historical Trademarks of Italy. “At the same time, there is a clear need to support this heritage as it enters a new phase of development: companies are calling for greater visibility, shared promotional tools and a stronger ability to work as a cohesive system, including on international markets. It is on this transition that the future competitiveness of Historical Trademarks will depend.”
The regional distribution of Italy’s historical trademarks confirms the strength of the manufacturing hubs in the North: Lombardy leads the rankings in terms of turnover (49.1%) and number of trademarks (28.3%), followed by Veneto (14.2%) and Piedmont (12.9%).
However, there is a deep-rooted presence across the country, with regions such as Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Tuscany showing a prevalence of the ‘4 A’s’ of around or above 80%. From a sectoral perspective, the Register is structurally industrial in nature: 88% of companies operate in manufacturing, where the agri-food sector (44% of the total) and automation-mechanics (25%) remain the economic and numerical pillars.
80% of companies assign the Historical Trademark a very high strategic value. 70% incorporate it into corporate materials and 46% directly onto packaging. Although use of the international version “Italian Historical Trademark” is still limited to 25%, almost half of the companies (46%) plan to use it in the future, signalling a strong desire for growth in global markets as a tool to combat “Italian Sounding”.
A central part of the initiative was dedicated to the themes of corporate culture and the younger generations, with the presentation of the Historic Trademarks Youth Campaign “Together, we shape the future” and a reflection on the role of Historical Trademarks as an integral part of the country’s cultural heritage.
The morning continued with a panel discussion featuring companies holding Historical Trademark status, focusing on the theme “Being a Historical Trademark: a lever for business and for the country”, during which concrete experiences and development strategies were shared, with a focus on the relationship between tradition and innovation, market positioning, and processes of growth and internationalisation.
The event will conclude with a summary session dedicated to the role of Historical Trademarks in industrial policies and the development strategies of the national production system.
