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In the Twenties Thirties and Forties, Narciso Delladio hand-crafted
wooden clogs and leather boots for many lumber-jacks and farmers of the Fassa
and Fiemme valleys, who trusted his skilled hands.
Very important is the date of a participation certificate at the Milan Trade
Fair in 1928.
During the Second World War, Delladio custom produced mountain boots that
were supplied to the Army. Dating back to this period is a patent for a special
lacing system, that later will be used by the most important footwear factories.
After the war, the demand for boots increased, obliging Narciso to hire new
workers:
the good name of "Calzoleria Sportiva" crossed the boarders of the
valleys and reached the cities of Trento and Bolzano.
In the Fifties, his son Francesco began to work for the company,
and by doing the right thing at the right time he started building a new workshop
on the outskirts of Tesero, where today is located a large industrial area.
In the new and roomy biulding they began to design and develop ski boots,
for a fast growing sport, requiring more technical boots.
The market opened up quickly and Francesco Delladio introduced the brand name
"La Sportiva" firstly in the Milan Exhibition, then throughout Europe,
with a winter collection characterised by audacious technical and aesthetic
solutions, and a summer collection of traditional mountain boots.
In the Seventies, with the arrival of plastic boots, "La
Sportiva", after a trial season, had to discontinue the production of
ski boots, for financial reasons; the investment would have been too high
and therefore the production was limited to mountain boots and cross-country
skiing footwear.
In the meantime the sons of Francesco began to work in the company: Lorenzo,
Luciano, Marco. The desire to create, to stand out and to make a name for
oneself in an ever increasing market is a characteristic present in the Delladio
family.
The opportunity arrived at the beginning of the Eighties:
with "Freeclimbing". An innovative climbing shoes was designed and
developed, the model "Mariacher", it was the first in a long series
of state of the art product that quickly established La Sportiva as a brand
successful throughout the World.
The footwear manufacturer "La Sportiva" became a Ltd Co, owned exclusively
by the Delladio family; very courageous technical and commercial solutions
were studied and evaluated, that were optimised in a short time.
Read more about La Sportiva here.
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