Why it belongs in ORBIS
Italian leather goods house founded in Bologna in 1987 by engineering student Marco Palmieri; launched its own label in 1998 and now manufactures from its factory in Gaggio Montano, in the Bologna Apennines.
Piquadro was founded in Bologna in 1987 by Marco Palmieri, then a 22-year-old engineering student, initially producing leather goods for other brands. In 1998 the company launched its own label, a play on 'P squared,' referencing both Palmieri and pelletterie, Italian for leather goods. The brand opened its first store in Milan in 2000 and grew into a listed company (public in 2007). Its production base is in Gaggio Montano, an Apennine town south of Bologna. In 2018 Piquadro acquired the French leather house Lancel and the Italian brand The Bridge.