Marinotti, Franco
Franco Marinotti (1891-1966) is an Italian entrepreneur. He was nominated as the Cavaliere del Lavoro. In 1956, he founded the International Center for Arts and Costume in the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, which organized themed fashion exhibitions, primarily aimed to inspire designers to use fabrics produced by the company Snia Viscosa (such as rayon, merinova, lilion, and rilsan), of which Marinotti was president.
The history of the entrepreneur
With a diploma in accountancy, he began working as an accountant in Milan. In 1921 he became the promoter of the Compagnia Italiana Commercio Estero, an organization for trade between the USSR and the Middle East on behalf of Italian companies, in order to export their products.
While he was working for the institution, he met Senator Borletti, stakeholder of SNIA, who called him a few years later to the company to be central director. The company was almost bankrupt, Marinotti became managing director, president and then shareholder. Franco Marinotti was a strong supporter of Fascism, also becoming vice-podestà of Milan and acting podestà of Torviscosa. After September 8, 1943, however, he distanced himself politically from Mussolini, also being arrested by the republicans.
For the first time anywhere, the relationship between fashion and art was studied, giving rise to runway shows as showbiz. Marinotti made the fortunes of Snia Viscosa, a forerunner of commercial relations between Italy and the Soviet Union after the 1917 revolution. He learnt his professional know-how by joining Cascami Seta when he was very young age, and at the age of 22 ran a textile factory for the company in Russia.
In 1929, he became director of Snia Viscosa, which was in difficulties, turning it around and running it until his death. Then, his shareholding passed to his son Paolo, but in 1972 SNIA passed under the control of Montedison and then Fiat.
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