Monument to the Weaver, White stone monument in Schio, Italy

The Monument to the Weaver is a white stone sculpture by Giulio Monteverde, inaugurated in 1879 in Schio. It shows a worker holding a shuttle, the essential part of a mechanical loom, his gaze fixed on it, with cloths at his feet as the fruit of his labour. The granite base is by Antonio Caregaro Negrin.

Sculptor Giulio Monteverde created this monument in 1879 at the request of industrialist Alessandro Rossi during Schio's peak years of textile production. The work was completed when the town was gaining importance through its growing factories and labor force.

The granite base by Antonio Caregaro Negrin carries eight panels engraved with Alessandro Rossi's maxims, among them "Work frees and elevates us" and "The future belongs to working peoples". Schio residents call the statue l'Omo, "the Man" in Venetan, and it stands as the town's symbol.

The statue stands in Schio's main square, Piazza Alessandro Rossi, facing the cathedral, at the end of the pedestrian route through the town centre. It was moved here in 1945, so it is now a fixed point for orientation in the historic core. Look for the granite base by Antonio Caregaro Negrin, which carries the dedication and eight inscribed mottoes.

The statue is the first monument in Italy dedicated to workers, commissioned by Alessandro Rossi and inscribed "ai suoi tessitori". Its granite base by Antonio Caregaro Negrin carries eight panels with mottos such as "Il lavoro ci affranca ed eleva".