Elite's Fornaci for the FAI Autumn Days
Elite's Fornaci for the FAI Autumn Days
On 10 and 11 October, the Fornaci Serciari, home of Elite, open to the public for the FAI Autumn Days 2026. A weekend to discover where Elite trainers and bottles take shape, through history, territory and cycling.
Some places you can ride past a hundred times without ever knowing what they hold.
The Fornaci Serciari in Fontaniva are one of them.
For more than twenty-five years they have been home to Elite, and on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October they open their doors to the public for the FAI Autumn Days (Giornate FAI d'Autunno).
An edition celebrating craftsmanship
This year, the Days organised by the Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (FAI, the Italian foundation for the protection of cultural and natural heritage) celebrate craftsmanship and Made in Italy, and FAI has chosen to include the Fornaci among its openings in the Veneto region. It already happened in 2021, and finding ourselves on the list again feels just like the first time.
Where the Brenta turned into lime
It all starts with the river. For centuries the Brenta carried white limestone pebbles downstream, and as early as the Middle Ages people along these banks had worked out how to turn them into wealth: fired at extremely high temperatures, they became lime, the binder that held together houses, churches and palaces across the whole area.
The Serciari kiln was built at the end of the 19th century with a single furnace. In 1913 business grew and a second one was added, giving rise to the two inverted-funnel chimneys that still tower over the riverbank today. For FAI, they are a valuable example of industrial archaeology: proof of how deeply water and stone have shaped the economy and identity of this land.
A second life on two wheels
Once the furnaces went cold, the building stood idle for years. Elite bought it and restored it through an extensive recovery and enhancement project, turning it into its headquarters.
Where stone was once fired, today we design the trainers, bottles and bottle cages that race with WorldTour teams and reach cyclists in more than 70 countries. All around lies a park crossed by a millstream, with centuries-old oaks, maples, poplars and mulberry trees. And from the top of the Fornaci, the view stretches from Monte Grappa to the Euganean Hills.
“I have experienced cycling as a competitive rider too, and I still follow it with great passion. That is why I am particularly happy that, through the FAI Autumn Days, we can introduce cycling enthusiasts to a place so significant for the industrial history of our territory and, at the same time, to a company as deeply rooted in bicycle culture as Elite,” says Marco Boscolo Meo, Head of the FAI Padova Delegation.
A bond with the territory
Elite is a Società Benefit (benefit corporation) and has put in writing, in its articles of association, its commitment to the local community and to protecting the territory. Opening the Fornaci to the public is one of the most direct ways to make that commitment tangible, giving back for two days a place that belongs to the history of Fontaniva even before it belongs to us.
“The Fornaci were built to turn the pebbles of the Brenta into something that could be used to build. We like to think we still do the same job, just with different materials,” says Nicoletta Sartore, CEO of Elite. “Those who worked stone in these kilns knew the meaning of patience, hard work and the value of a job done well and made to last. Every cyclist knows these qualities well, and we bring them into the products that accompany them on the road and in training. The Fornaci have never stopped working.”
Visiting the Fornaci means following the thread that connects the industrial past of the territory to a new way of doing business. Here, the memory of the place lives side by side every day with research, innovation and an increasingly international outlook. It is the same dialogue between heritage and present that runs through the FAI Autumn Days 2026. This year FAI puts the spotlight on Italian craftsmanship and Made in Italy, with more than 75 openings and special visits dedicated to know-how, ancient trades, manufacturing traditions and the country's finest production.
What to expect
Fifty minutes inside the story of a 19th-century kiln: how the furnaces worked, how river pebbles became lime, and how an abandoned industrial building came back to life as the home of a brand known all over the world.
An autumn outing close to home, blending architecture, river landscape and cycling, sure to surprise both those who ride every day and those who only watch the bike from the outside.
Practical information
When: Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, from 10:00 to 18:00.
Where: Fornaci Serciari, Via dell'Unità d'Italia 4, Fontaniva (PD)
How it works: groups of about 25 people, each visit lasting about 50 minutes
Accessibility: partially accessible
Updated times and booking details are available on the official FAI page.
