In anticipation of the company’s centenary in April 2026, Gottifredi Maffioli is celebrating a historic milestone: the city of Novara has named the square between Via Wild and Via Pigafetta after Maria Gottifredi, the company’s founder and a trailblazing figure in Italy’s industrial textile sector.
The initiative, strongly supported by the city, honours Maria not only as the driving force behind a business founded in 1926, but as a true innovator in the Italian industrial landscape. At a time when women had yet to gain the right to vote, Maria Gottifredi established a textile workshop that would evolve into a global benchmark in the production of high-performance ropes for nautical, industrial, and sporting applications.
The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Novara, Alessandro Canelli, who paid heartfelt tribute to Maria Gottifredi’s determination and courage, emphasising how her story remains a powerful example for the entire community.
“Dedicating this space to Maria means celebrating a figure who turned a vision into a remarkable enterprise and paying tribute to one of the most important stories of female entrepreneurship in our city,” said the Mayor.
“It’s a meaningful gesture that gives value to the city’s industrial heritage while recognising the pivotal role my grandmother played in founding the company at a time when it was far from expected for a woman to do so,” added Rossella Maffioli, a representative of the company’s third generation.
Maria Gottifredi’s journey was marked by determination, vision, and pragmatism. With the support of her husband, Ettore Luigi Maffioli, the company Gottifredi Maffioli was born today a global leader in the marine and industrial sectors. It is a business story that has evolved over time without ever losing sight of its founding values: lightness, accuracy, passion, and respect. A journey that continues to inspire pride not only in those who founded and led it, but also in all those who work within it, many of whom are part of a family tradition passed down through generations.
The naming of Piazzale Maria Gottifredi is not only a symbolic tribute, but also a recognition of a long-standing tradition of Italian entrepreneurship, one now projected into the future through ongoing research and innovation in high-performance textile materials.
Today, just as in the beginning, Gottifredi Maffioli continues to build upon the foundations laid by those who had the courage to start it all.
