I read an interview in 1994 with Ugo DeRosa, and was able to visit his shop when I lived in Italy. A very nice man, his whole family worked in the shop and he lived over the shop.
Ugo started his own shop when he was 18 years old in Milan. At age 22 he moved the shop to Cusano-Milanino ( it was again moved to another location in this same suburb of Milan). In 1958 he had his big break. Raphael Geminiani showed up for the Gran Premio Liberazione at the Vigorelli with out a bike to ride. Although he searched for one, he couldn't find a good one. When he arrived at Ugo's shop he tried a bike Ugo had just sold. Raphael liked the bike and rode it during the races. From this point on he became the team mechanic for Raphael, in 1961 he moved to Faema with Rik Van Looy. He built bikes for Eddy Merckx ( nine years), Gianni Motta,...
Ugo also related a few Merckx stories,... building a new bike from the ground up during the Giro and the Swiss Tour and meeting Merckx at the start of the next event having worked all night (the prior 23 or 24 where not good enough even though Eddy was winning). But Merckx, he always asked for a favor,... never demanded.
Personally I've always admired Ernesto Colnago. A man who left school at 14 to work in a factory in 1946. He started work for Gloria and after a break in his leg in 1954, he decided to start his own company. He was team mechanic for Fiorenzo Magni from '54 to '56, he built for Gianni Motta in the 60's and for Molteni di Arcore. His brother works closely with him in the current shop and was named Mechanic of the Year for several years in a row in Bici Sport during the mid 90's.
I have a few nice bikes: an '83 San Rensho, a Braxton from the 70's, a '71 Ron Cooper, an Assenmacher from the early 80's, a 60's Claude Butler and a '75 DeRosa with the neatest lugwork ( like a Singer with the built up lugs at the joints),
Brian Van Baush
Elm Grove, WI