Scarpellini, who also spent time as president of Cesena Wholesale Market, died at the weekend following a long illness
Domenico Scarpellini, founder of the Italian fresh produce trade fair Macfrut and a leading public figure in the city of Cesena, has died at the age of 87 following a long illness.
Scarpellini was president of Macfrut, Italy’s leading exhibition for the fruit and vegetable industry, from its creation in the 1980s until 2014.
After his departure, Macfrut relocated from his home town to Rimini, and in 2017 he took on a new role as head of Cesena Wholesale Market.
Throughout his life, Scarpellini was equally active in the regional business world as he was in the local diocese: among his many roles, he spent a long time working for the provincial Agrarian Consortium, including as director.
Renzo Piraccini, former boss of Italian fresh produce supplier Apofruit and Scarpellini’s successor at Macfrut, told Corriere Ortofrutticolo: “Domenico was first and foremost a friend, with whom I shared many beautiful moments. We had known each other for a lifetime.”
“From a professional point of view, he was a very capable manager,” he continued. “He had a particular ability to keep the accounts in order, a quality that was confirmed on several occasions during his numerous work experiences, from Macfrut itself, to the fruit and vegetable market of Cesena, to entities in other sectors – including a local private high school that he revived. He was a person who gave a lot to the territory and to the sector. He always knew how to manage businesses in the best possible way.”
Roberto Della Casa, founder of consultancy Agroter and a major contributor to Macfrut’s content programme over several decades, described his former colleague as “a true friend, capable of being close when needed, with a delicacy and humanity unexpected from a ‘tough guy’ like him.”
He added: “It is the part of Domenico that I will miss the most, even if, professionally, I owe him a lot. He helped me grow by giving me the opportunity to be his advisor for over a decade to help him develop ‘his’ creature: Macfrut.”
Scarpellini leaves behind his wife Laura Bellinelli, children Luca and Francesca and their partners, as well as several grandchildren.
A funeral will be held at 10am on Wednesday, 11 December, at the church of San Pietro in Cesena.
