The Museum of Footwear and Industry of Inca

In the 20th century Mallorca became an important producer of shoes and several factories are still important employers. The Museum of Footwear and Industry of Inca is housed in an army barracks built in 1910. There is a comprehensive collection of the specialist machinery and tools used in making footwear, for example for pattern making, leather cutting, assembling, finishing and packaging. Ancillary industries that supplied footwear makers are also represented, such as leather tanning, heel-making and the manufacture of shoe boxes, rubber and glue. Other displays represent fashion in footwear through design drawings, advertising, magazines and finished footwear. Most of the machines, tools, shoes, drawings, photographs and ithems displayed in it were eithergiven on loan or donated to the Museum by local businesses and private individuals. Each one of them tells a true personal story that is closely linked to the identity of those who have made footwear their actual way of life.

The museum and its current exhibition reopened in 2018 following a project of co-creation with the community of Mallorca to identify what they wanted from their heritage. It won the European Museum of the Year award for community participation in 2022.