Italian shoes – the most prestigious in the world. Not for nothing, even the country itself, Italy looks like a boot – the irony of geography. The ancient Romans originally used two kinds of shoes: – shoes that cover your entire foot and tied in front with a ribbon or string – calceus – sandals, which covered only the sole of the foot and fastened to the foot with special straps – solea. The Romans believed that the educated man should not appear in polite society open shoes – it was a mauvais ton. Roman woman's shoe in a shoe in white, while the men enjoyed the popularity of black.
For special occasions the Romans used the purple and red shoes that decorated with embroidery and pearls. Characteristically, the patricians – the noble citizens – crepe shoes with four straps and plebeians – one. Senators wore shoes in black that extends to the ankles. At the same time on the patella portrayed month of silver or gold, which was the hallmark of the patricians, and was called 'luna patricia'. During the Empire the Romans liked to decorate shoes with precious metals and stones. Residents of poor Roman society were forced to wear wooden shoes. The same shoes worn by criminals, convicted of killing his father.
Subsequently, the Romans developed about 23 kinds of shoes, and then the Italians have already impressed the neighbors on the mainland creative approach to the creation of footwear. Now Italy is considered a world leader in shoe manufacturing middle and high class. After China and Brazil, the Italian footwear industry is in third place in the world. When Moreover, the Italian production remains roughly the same as a few centuries ago: the share of large enterprises account for only one thousand factories, the remaining seven thousand – it poluartelnye production.