The Fondazione Leonardo Del Vecchio has opened a photographic retrospective in Agordo, the mountain town where the late Luxottica founder launched the eyewear empire that would eventually become EssilorLuxottica. The exhibition was inaugurated on May 22, 2026, coinciding with what would have been Del Vecchio's 91st birthday and marks the rollout of scholarship programs for technical institute students across the region—a deliberate push to revive vocational education in an area long shaped by industrial history.
The Scholarship Program: What Residents Need to Know
The Fondazione Leonardo Del Vecchio is funding work-study programs abroad for all fourth-year students at IIS Follador through 2027. This represents a rare commitment to international vocational training in Italy's mountain provinces.
Key Program Details for Eligible Students:
• Who qualifies: All 4th-year students at IIS U. Follador – A. De Rossi in Agordo
• What it covers: Full funding for overseas work placements lasting the duration of the program
• Duration: Enrollment begins in the current academic year, with placements continuing through 2027
• Application process: Students should contact Claudio Magalini, the school's director, or visit the school administration office for enrollment details and placement opportunities
• Program scope: Placements are coordinated with international companies in manufacturing, logistics, and precision engineering sectors
This initiative, developed with the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit, aims to create replicable frameworks for strengthening technical institutes nationwide and to provide youth in rural Alpine communities with competitive credentials and international experience.
Why This Matters
• Addressing youth emigration: Youth unemployment in Italy remains high, and emigration from mountain communities accelerates each year. These guaranteed international placements anchor young talent in the region while building skills valued globally.
• Redefining technical education: Italian technical institutes—istituti tecnici e professionali—have historically suffered from underfunding and declining enrollment, perceived as second-tier compared to academic lycées. The foundation's model offers something rare: guaranteed international work experience, a form of credential-building that rivals university degrees in sectors like manufacturing and precision engineering.
• Cultural commemoration: The exhibition runs until July 4, 2026, at Sala Don Tamis in Agordo, open weekdays 16:30–19:00 and Saturday mornings 09:00–12:00.
The Agordo Connection
Agordo, tucked into the Belluno province in the Veneto Dolomites, is more than a birthplace for Luxottica—it remains the operational heart of the group's luxury and Made in Italy segments. Del Vecchio founded the company here in 1961 as a small workshop making eyewear components for third parties. By 1967, Luxottica was producing complete frames under its own brand, a pivot that transformed a provincial metalworking shop into a global design and manufacturing colossus.
The town of fewer than 4,000 residents has long been entwined with the fortunes of the eyewear giant. The main factory still operates along what will soon be renamed in Del Vecchio's honor, and the local Circolo dei Pensionati di Luxottica—a retirees' club—co-organized the exhibition alongside the foundation. For residents and former employees, the event is both tribute and reminder of how one man's vision reshaped the economic landscape of an entire Alpine valley.
A Foundation Built on 5% of Profits
Nicoletta Zampillo Del Vecchio, the industrialist's widow and foundation president, framed the exhibition as a call to action rather than nostalgia. "Hearing the memories of his longtime collaborators on the day he would have turned 91 is moving," she said at the private inauguration. "It reinforces the responsibility he left me: to deliver high-impact projects through the foundation."
The Fondazione Leonardo Del Vecchio operates on an unusual funding model. By Del Vecchio's design, Delfin—the Luxembourg-based holding company that controls stakes in EssilorLuxottica, Generali, Mediobanca, Covivio, and UniCredit—channels 5% of annual net profits to the foundation. This structure ensures a steady flow of capital for initiatives in scientific research, healthcare, education, and humanitarian relief.
In 2024, the foundation partnered with Bocconi University on a €20M endowment funding annual scholarships for economically disadvantaged students. It is also involved in the rehabilitation of Rome's Ospedale Fatebenefratelli on Tiber Island, in coordination with the Holy See, and has established the Fondazione Leonardo Del Vecchio Rwanda, committing up to €36.8M to expand ophthalmic care in East Africa.
Pilot Model and Regional Priorities
The Agordo initiative represents a deliberate localization of the foundation's education strategy. For families in the Belluno region, the program addresses a practical concern: youth in mountain communities need real pathways to employment and international experience. Claudio Magalini, the school's director, attended the inauguration alongside Confindustria Belluno Dolomiti president Maria Lorraine Berton and Agordo mayor Roberto Chissalè. Their presence underscores the interlocking interests at play: regional industry associations need skilled labor, municipal governments need population retention, and the foundation needs demonstrable impact to justify its replicable-model ambitions.
Exhibition Details and Public Access
"Sguardi che cambiano il mondo – Storia di Leonardo Del Vecchio" translates roughly as "Gazes That Change the World," a nod to both the eyewear industry and Del Vecchio's self-made trajectory from orphan to billionaire. The show is housed in Sala Don Tamis on via XXVII Aprile 5/B and includes archival photos, early product prototypes, and testimonials from collaborators who worked with Del Vecchio during Luxottica's ascent.
Admission is free. Visitors planning a trip should note the limited weekday hours (late afternoon only) and the single Saturday morning slot. The exhibition closes July 4, 2026, giving curious locals and industry historians a six-week window. For those unfamiliar with the Agordo story, the show offers a primer on how a vertically integrated eyewear conglomerate emerged from a Dolomite workshop—and why that origin story still matters to regional identity.
The Bigger Picture
EssilorLuxottica, formed in 2018 from the merger of Italy's Luxottica and France's Essilor, is the world's dominant force in ophthalmic lenses, optical equipment, and prescription and sun eyewear. The group operates roughly 18,000 retail locations globally and holds licensing agreements with Armani, Bulgari, Chanel, Prada, and Versace, among others. Its flagship brands—Ray-Ban, Oakley, Persol—remain synonymous with accessible luxury.
Yet the foundation's focus on technical education and regional development suggests an awareness that globalized success must be reconciled with local obligations. Agordo's population has aged, and manufacturing employment in the province faces pressure from automation and offshoring. The scholarship program and work-abroad opportunities are concrete interventions that signal intent: to ensure that the next generation in the Belluno valleys has reasons to stay and skills to build competitive careers in their home region or internationally.
