Pedavena Beer Factory: a fairy tale to discover in the heart of the Dolomites

Bar and Shop of the Bottega Dolomitica - Hotel Casagrande in Feltre

The Fabbrica in Pedavena was born on 17 February 1897, a place of excellent production of Italian beer that has become over time a symbol of the territory and protagonist of the local culture, where ancient and modern, tradition and technology coexist. It is precisely in the Fabbrica in Pedavena that an excellent product is born today, thanks to the experience of the brewers and in the best tradition of the Fabbrica in Pedavena school handed down and preserved over the years. The production of the Pedavena Brewery was inaugurated on March 27, 1897. Two years earlier the three brothers, Luigi, Sante and Giovanni Luciani, originally from Canale d'Agordo (BL) had begun its construction by choosing precisely the location of Pedavena as the ideal site for the construction of their brewery. In addition to the ease of access to the main communication routes and the easy supply of ice, Pedavena was in fact rich in spring waters whose properties could give beer special qualities. The company immediately experienced an exceptional development thanks to the great entrepreneurial spirit also obtaining various awards for its product. With the outbreak of the Great War and the defeat of Caporetto in 1917, the Belluno area was occupied by Austrian troops who looted and set fire to the factory. The Luciani brothers therefore found themselves in 1919 having to start from scratch and decided not only to rebuild the factory but also to expand it by acquiring new structures. Over time, the Luciani Group acquired other plants, arriving in the mid-1960s with a total production of almost 1 million hectoliters, equal to 21% of the national beer requirement at the time. Over time, the increase in international competitiveness and the considerable reduction in profit margins lead to the sale of the group to a multinational company in 1975. Over time, the increase in international competitiveness and the considerable reduction in profit margins, lead to the sale of the group to a multinational in 1975. In September 2004, exactly 30 years after the acquisition, the multinational decided to close the Pedavena plant. The mobilization by workers and workers against the stop to production starts immediately with the aim of raising public awareness. Thanks to these reactions, the company opted for the sale of the plant to the Birra Castello di Udine group, which took over it in January 2006, reopening it the following April after almost a year of closure. It remains to this day the largest brewery in Italy.