SCHIO

town, Vicenza province, Veneto region, northern Italy, northwest of Vicenza, on the Leogra River. A manufacturing centre with wool, machinery, lumber, and cutlery enterprises, Schio's ancient wool trade declined with the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 but was restored through the efforts of Alessandro Rossi, a farsighted 19th-century industrialist. There are lead mines and china-clay quarries nearby. Historic monuments include the cathedral of S. Pietro (partly 16th century) and the church of S. Francesco (1442). Near the town is a World War I cemetery and memorial site. Pop. (1981 prelim.) mun., 35,596.