La Sportiva: 85 years of state-of-the-art mountain footwear

In order to get a clear idea of what La Sportiva means to the world of mountaineering, we should take a look at specific points in time such as "La Sportiva was already around at the time of the wall street crash in 1929", or "at the outbreak of World War II, La Sportiva already had 12 years of experience".

It's not easy to find a family business as a world-wide manufacturer with this sort of background or international success & commitment to quality and innovation.

In 1928, Narciso Delladio was a young craftsman from Trentino, who made clogs and leather boots by hand for hunters and farmers in the Fassa & Fiemme valleys of the Dolomites. Now, 85 years later his son is the president of the company, his 2 grandchildren are General Director & Director of production and his Italian made products continue to excel as high quality technical footwear for mountaineers and climbers alike.

The first references to La Sportiva can be found in the Fiera Campionaria of Milan in 1928. Narciso Delladio participated in this trade fair, exhibiting his quality boots as “Calzoleria Sportiva”. The end of World War II and an increasing demand for outdoor footwear spurred the growth of his company at an increasing rate.

The arrival of Francesco in the 1950s; the 2nd Delladio generation, and his ability to look to the future was key to the success of the company: he built a new workshop in Tesero, changed the name to what we now know as La Sportiva but most importantly, added to the summer collection a new winter collection of footwear, which excelled in the European trade fairs for the daring designs and technical solutions.

Since then the company gradually went global and this was consolidated in the 80s when Francesco, Lorenzo & Marco became the third Delladio generation to join the company. Their input inspired La Sportiva to add climbing shoes to their collection and the brand would soon become world leaders in rock climbing and one of the most prestigious brands for sale both in Europe and the USA.

Nowadays, any mountain or climbing enthusiast in the world is able to name La Sportiva's legendary models which have marked the last 20 years: Nepal, Nepal Extreme, Mythos, Miura. The secret? the 160 workers continue to design and manufacture their boots and climbing shoes by hand, aided by some of the most modern technology in the new 7,000m2 workshop in Ziano di Fiemme, in the heart of the Dolomites.

La Sportiva is, without doubt, one of few who have been able to carry the traditional craftsmanship of footwear into this modern age and remain on the frontline almost a century after its creation.

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