Dino Signori has left us. Mr. Sidi passed away at the age of 90, he was born in Maser on October 7, 1935: an authentic self-made man, he had raced on a bicycle as a boy before abandoning competitive activity at the threshold of twenty and entering the world of work as a protagonist, in the world of shoes. First those for work, then those for sports, with specialization in cycling and motorcycling alongside the greatest champions, authentic legends of sport.

To pay tribute to him, we present the introduction to the book "Dino Signori - From Head to Toe": it is the portrait of an entrepreneur who made himself and conquered the world, with the merit of never forgetting where he came from.

To the Signori family, the condolences of the tuttoBICI and tuttobiciweb.it editorial staff

A life spent working with hands and heart, thinking of others' feet. How many soles worn out, but above all how many to sew. One after another, in the midst of war, with bombs that steal the appetite, and hunger that gnaws at the stomach. Years of bitter life, first with the recklessness of a child who playfully begins to work with the adults right away, and then with the hope and awareness that tomorrow would reserve a better world for him.

Tough, stubborn and determined like few others, Dino Signori. Few words and many deeds: much like that entire generation of iron who suddenly found themselves with "proud eye and swift step". Few pretenses or complaints, great desire to work. There was family to help, and above all a trade to learn that would guarantee everyone a future.

Little bread and many dreams: in this climate Dino Signori grew up, formed himself and measured himself. Never fearful of anything, with the awareness that with willpower everything was possible. He didn't waste time feeling sorry for himself, but as a child he rolled up his sleeves. A Chinese proverb says: "before judging a man, walk for three moons in his shoes". Well, Dino Signori never spent much time judging the work of others, but dedicated his life to making everyone walk well. In a sense, he has always put himself and continues to put himself in others' shoes. His dream, like many in this corner of land, a meeting point between plain and mountain, was to make shoes. And make them well. And, above all, that they could be comfortable and last as long as possible.

This story of a life unfolds in Maser, a small town in the province of Treviso a stone's throw from Montebelluna, one of the homelands of the shoemaking tradition that flourished in the Venetian Republic of which Montebelluna has been part since the 14th century. Maser is his home. His dwelling. His workshop and his playground. It is here that he forges soles and sews shoes; it is here that his manual skill and talent grow and increase. And it is here in Maser that, in the face of those who in recent decades have relocated their production, he decided to stay. Like a strong and robust oak that sinks its roots into these lands of wine and divine beauty, where Asolo is well worth a solo, and Maser is reflected in this Venetian plain that anticipates the Belluno pre-Alps.

This is the zone of shoemakers. Each shoemaker worked at his small desk, assisted by one or two workers, and handcrafted shoes, using tools that remained the same for entire generations: hammer, pliers, awl, knife, punch, bisegolo, file, nails, center punch, sole puller. The first sewing machines arrive only at the end of the 1800s.

And then the Great War and with it the military supplies of the Montellian workshops. After the First World War, here come the mountain shoes. And after that the "pedula" climbing shoe that soon becomes a product sought after by large groups of consumers: many Italians who knew the Dolomites living through anguished weeks in the trenches, decide indeed to return there as mountaineers.

Years pass, and the "District" specializes in ski boots: we are in the Fifties, which flow lightly and quickly toward that boom that will mark an era. And here we are, therefore, in 1954: the Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio scales K2 wearing Dolomite boots. Other champions contribute to the promotion of the "District": with the famous Master from the Munari shoe factory, the Austrian phenomenon Toni Sailer wins the Cortina Olympics and with Nordica boots the great Zeno Colò wins the world downhill skiing championship in 1955.

Stories, enterprises, victories, men who will make the history of an area and an entire country. This book aims to be the story of a man and his company: a great company, SIDI. This is the story of Dino Signori, a man who dedicated his entire life to making and now allows himself the luxury of remembering as well, even though there is no need, because as Beckett said, "the man of good memory remembers nothing, because he forgets nothing".

It is the story of a life that transforms into a dream and the dream that transforms into life, just as happens with memory, as Gesualdo Bufalino wrote. It is the story of a company, SIDI, made in the image and likeness of its great founding father: strong, splendid and transparent, deeply rooted in the territory. It is the story of a generation of men and women, who did much, very much from the immediate post-war period to today. But it is also the story of a land, rich and fertile, that you breathe in full lungs throughout this story that we had the pleasure of gathering. Like a ripe fruit, that smells of goodness. And always tastes of spring.

Introduction from the book "Dino Signori - From Head to Toe" - Pier Augusto Stagi, for Prima Pagina Edizioni 2014