Our History Our Soul
Our company was founded in 1923 with the “ABIBI” brand, in the beautiful and magical city of Bassano Del Grappa, at the foot of Monte Grappa, bathed by the Brenta river and known for the Ponte Vecchio, also called “Ponte degli Alpini”.
It all began when Mrs. Maria, mother of Aldo and Alfredo Baggio, who after the death of her husband, decided to roll up her sleeves to be able to support the family by exploiting her skill as a seamstress.
She then begins to sew her first ties and instructs her eldest son Aldo to sell them.
Aldo travels by train with his suitcase full of ties and hope.
Initially he sells in Friuli, business were good and therefore he needs to open a real workshop which is inaugurated in Via Beata Giovanna, a well-known street in Bassano.
At this point he also involves his brother Alfredo, initially hired in production but who later becomes his partner.
The two brothers began this adventure together and they expanded production including also belts. Unfortunately, Aldo died shortly after, followed by Alfredo a few years later.
Everything therefore passes into the hands of Alfredo's son, Alessandro Baggio, who in 1971, thanks to the particularly positive performance of the Company, builds a factory that can satisfy the new production needs (located in Via Cellini in Bassano), also bringing his brother Paolo with him who becomes his partner.
A new beginning, a new name: it was decided in that year to change the name, from "ABIBI"
to "Paolo Da Ponte". A fusion between the name of one of the two partners and the surname
of the famous Bassano painter Jacopo Da Ponte, an exponent of Venetian painting who lived in the 1500s.
In the meantime, generations follow generations and also Michele, Alessandro's son, and Andrea, Paolo's son, join the company as partners.
This set-up works until 2000, when the partners decide to divide the company in two: Alessandro and Michele will have the Italian market, the other two partners the foreign market.
Currently, the only existing headquarters of Paolo Da Ponte is the one of Via Mattarella in Bassano Del Grappa with majority partner Michele Baggio who in 2019 bought the brand
also for abroad, making it return to its original form again.
The production of accessories over the years has further expanded and renewed, now the collection also boasts the presence of shoes, gilets, cufflinks, leather gloves, wallets
and the great novelty introduced in 2021 represented by hand-painted belts and bow ties
.
The style has changed, while maintaining that timeless refinement and elegance characteristic of the brand: a skilful blend of tradition and innovation that still pushes our customers to choose us among many.
Despite the trend of recent times to move production to foreign countries, Paolo Da Ponte remains faithful to the Italian spirit, both from the point of view of manufacturing and raw materials origin.
This is our history, this is the soul of our accessories, this is the tradition of a family that from generation to generation has handed down those ancient and wise gestures that characterize the quality and uniqueness of our products.
one hundred years old... 2023 is coming!