The Treviso entrepreneur was the soul of the SCARPA company. Francesco Parisotto died on Sunday, August 3 at the age of 98. The announcement was made by the same mountain footwear company of which Parisotto had taken the reins in 1956. Under his leadership he had made Scarpa a world reference point in the outdoor trekking and mountaineering sector.

Parisotto leaves the company to his children, Sandro and Cristina, his empire.

Parisotto had started working at a very young age in the world of outdoor footwear. In 1948, together with his brothers Luigi and Antonio, he founded the San Giorgio shoe factory. As reported by the Corriere del Veneto, his first customers were the residents of Lamon, a town where Francesco sold shoes door to door.

In 1955 there were already twelve employees. In 1956 he acquired Scarpa, a company founded by the Englishman Lord Rupert Guinness and based in Asolo. Under his leadership, Scarpa grew to become a leader in the mountain footwear sector, producing more than 100 thousand pairs of shoes in 1973 and with 90% foreign exports. He was responsible for the introduction of the use of gore-tex in 1984 to produce mountain boots and for telemark (a skiing technique).