Footwear items in which the upper is joined to the sole by means of a so-called"Goodyear@ welt stitching"seam are largely known in the art. An example is disclosed in the patent publication US-A- 4 463 505, in which the sole actually comprises, among other things, as shown schematically in the accompanying Figure 1: an insole 2b, which is joined to the lower edge of an upper 1 and to a peripheral welt 2c by means of such a Goodyear@ sewing seam 3; a midsole"2a, which protrudes beyond the lower edge of the upper 1, so as to be in turn joined to the welt by means of a same kind of sewing seam 3, and forms with said insole 2b a cavity in which a permanent-type of orthopaedic member is received; an outsole 2 that is cemented on to the midsole 2a. It can be most readily appreciated that, even if potentially suitable for footwear items such as the ones being considered here, such a sole assembly has quite complex a structure, which heavily affects the overall manufacturing costs and is actually only suitable for use in conjunction with special footwear items, generally produced in small series, such as surgical or orthopaedic boots.

Also known from the patent publication US-A-4 858 340 is a footwear which comprises, as illustrated in the accompanying Figure 2, a very light upper 11, the lower edge of which is folded inwards so as

to be joined, by means of a first sewing seam 12, to a thin elastic arch support 13 separating the foot from the sole. The latter comprises topsole 14, which is given an anatomically shaped contour and is made of an elastic material; a midsole 16, which is made of a resilient material so as to dampen shocks; an outsole 18, which is made of a wear-resistant material and is provided all along its periphery with raised edges 20. These edges form an upwards opening cavity containing said insole 14 and midsole 16, and envelop the lower portion of the upper 11 so as to be joined to the latter by means of a second sewing seam 22.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, a footwear of this kind is most certainly capable of being easily manufactured even in large series, but, owing to the peculiar characteristics of the individual component parts, is in fact only suitable for such sports activities as tennis, jogging, footing and the like, where lightness and flexibility play a major role and are a clear priority over other characteristics; above all things, it is particularly unfit for the afore cited, demanding sports practices, such as motor-cycling and mountaineering.

It would on the contrary be desirable, and is actually a main object of the present invention, to provide a sole that is as robust as it is simple, so as to be able to be manufactured even in large quantities at a reduced cost in view of meeting the broad demand from the really large number of customers who practice such kinds of sports activities as the above mentioned ones.

According to the present invention, this and further objectss are reached in a footwear with the features as recited in the appended claims which is described in greater detail below by mere way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematical view of an example of sole made in accordance with the first of the afore cited prior-art documents; - Figure 2 is a schematical view of an example of sole made in accordance with the second of the afore cited prior-art document; - Figure 3 is a perspective view from the bottom upwards of a portion of sole according to the present invention; and

- Figure 4 is a schematised cross-sectional view of the lower portion of a motor-cyclist boot provided with a sole as the one illustrated in Figure 3.

If reference is now made to Figures 3 and 4, it can be noticed that a sole assembly according to the present invention, as generally indicated at 30 in said Figures, comprises an outsole 31, which possess a really considerable rigidity owing not only to the materials of which it is made, but also to the presence in the plantar portion thereof, in a per se known manner, of a plurality of ribs 32 that form recesses 33 opening downwards so as to reduce the weight thereof, under clear satisfaction of the wearer.

According to an important feature of the present invention, the outsole 31 extends upwards with a edge 34 which terminates with a contour that, in particular, forms two crests 35 and 36 that are situated in correspondence of the plantar arch of the foot and the zone of the metatarsus, respectively, along the footwear side that faces inwardly with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot (however, said contour might as well show any number whatsoever of such crests, starting from zero).

The sole assembly 30 furthermore comprises an insole 37, which is conformed anatomically and is preferably made of light materials that are adapted to restrain the perspiration of the foot. The cross- section of the insole 37 is substantially the same as the cross-section of the outsole 31 and, therefore, it also extends upwards with a edge 38 on the side of the foot that faces inwardly. The insole 37, however, is not provided with the afore cited ribs and recesses, since it has a definitely smaller thickness (see Figure 4), It will be readily appreciated that the outsole 31 may either be manufactured as a single, integral piece or it may be made of a multilayer material, much in the same way as the insole 37.

Usual adhesive-bonding or similar techniques may be used to join the outsole 31 to the insole 37 so as to obtain the sole assembly 30.

The upper 40 comprises in turn a bootleg portion 41 which extends up to well above the ankle, as identified with the axis C of the malleoli, and is provided in its lower portion with a edge that is folded in the same direction on both the inner side 42 and the outer side 43 with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot (see Figure 4). In this manner, the junction between the upper 40 and the

sole assembly 30 is brought about by means of: - a first Goodyear@ stitching seam 45 on the outer side 43 with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot, namely where the edge of the upper 40 is substantially horizontal, so as also the outsole 31 and the insole 37 are; - a second Goodyear@ stitching seam 48 and/or a bonding and sealing material (not shown) on the inner side 42 with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot, namely where the edge of the upper 40 extends upwards in the same way as the corresponding edges 34 and 38 of the outsole 31 and the insole 37, respectively.

From the foregoing description it will readily understood that the sole assembly 30, characterizing the present invention, is asymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot, and this peculiarity brings following advantages for the wearer: - in such sports practices as motor-cycling where, further to having a very strong and effective protection both on the foot sole and along the shinbone (above the ankle), it is important for the foot to be capable of being moved with short and precise displacements, the fact that there are no edges of the sole assembly 30 that protrude freely from the upper 40, in particular on the inner side thereof, allows the wearer to move his foot from a pedal to another one without meeting with any hindrance; - in a sports activity like mountaineering, where it may on the contrary be advantageous to have edges of the sole assembly 30 that protrude freely from the upper 40 on the inner side with respect to the longitudinal mid-plane L of the foot, in such a manner as to increase the useful surface available for the engagement of the foot, so that the cross-sectional shape of the footwear is so-to- say secular to the one illustrated in Figure 4, the edge of the upper 40, as folded into the sole assembly 30, prevents water (as possibly caused by rain or snow) to seep into the footwear.

On the other hand, the present invention has following advantages as far as manufacturing is concerned : - the manufacturing process of a footwear according to the present invention is simplified by the fact that it is possible to make use of just one work-station t perform the junction of the upper 40 to the

sole assembly 30, in correspondence of both the edge on the inner side 42 and the edge on the outer side 43, even if there is a possibility of providing a Goodyear@-type sewing seam on one side of the foot and a bonded junction on the other side thereof ; - in the case that also a second Goodyear@ sewing seam 48 is performed, this may be carried out with the use of a thinner thread and/or with a longer pitch of the junction stitches, since the sewing seam 48 is protected by the raised edge 34; - the footwear is fully suitable also for mass production at a limited cost; - the sole assembly 30 is separable from the upper 40 both to replacement purposes (re-soling of the footwear) and in view of recycling the component parts of the footwear (in the case that these are made of different plastic or other materials) when the latter is eventually discarded; - the asymmetrical shape and the possible different modes used to join the upper 40 to the sole assembly 30 on the internal side and on the external side of the footwear, respectively, may constitute a distinctive peculiarity of this footwear with respect to the rather large number of other footwear types that are currently available on the market for the same kind of utilizations.

What has been set forth above describes and illustrates an embodiment of the present invention, which has been given by mere way of non-limiting example and with respect to which any of those skilled in the art may be capable of thinking out, starting from the teachings in the foregoing description, a number of logical and equivalent substitute solutions that do not anyway depart from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.