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Marzotto's eye for an honest lira is matched by his paternalism. At Valdagno (pop. 27,000) in the green foothills of the Alps, where one of his textile mills is located, he built 1,000 three-bedroom apartments, each equipped with a radio, for his employees. Rents vary from 1,000 lire ($1.60) a month to a nominal rent of $1 a year. There is also a company hospital, nursery, kindergarten, a football field (with one of Italy's best teams), a swimming pool and villages on the sea and in the mountains, where workers can vacation for about 75¢ a day.
Proud Paternalism. The father of seven, Marzotto has five sons who are just as active as he. One is standing for Italy's Parliament on the Liberal ticket; another, Gianni, has twice won Italy's famed Mille Miglia auto race and is the Ferrari auto company's biggest customer.
"They call us paternalistic," says Gaetano Marzotto. "It is an ugly word. But we are proud of our paternalism . . . It's good business, for one thing. But then, too, when I die I want it said of me that I did some good on this earth. Besides, I want to show those numskulls down in Rome—and the skeptics abroad—that some Italians are efficient. I want to make democracy work. That's the only real way to beat the Communists."