The colorful Piedàterre, synonymous with Venice, move forward with the certainty of their handmade soles and the artisan impact that comes from the heart of our heritage. The original and most authentic masters of the “friulane”, Venetian slippers that represent a very long Italian history of ingenuity and manual mastery. Each pair is still sewn by the hands of craftsmen who keep one of the most enduring iconic signs of the dolce vita alive and ever more sophisticated.
Called Friulian, because it was born in the nineteenth century in Friuli, the traditional slipper that for some time, with its functional practicality, flaunts the luxury of a connnoisseur, was actually born in a period of post-war necessity, for reasons of maximum practicality. Italian families began to sew sumptuous velvet curtains from closed theaters, resting on flattened bicycle tires, creating a future icon of elegance with genius and flair. In addition to being ingenious, those slippers were splendid works of craftsmanship, sewn by the women of the region with precision and skill, driven by the aim of procuring shoes for their neighbors and loved ones.
Quickly, those slippers found a reference audience in cosmopolitan Venice and in the continuous influx of visitors. Versatile, more elegant than any competing shoe and – fundamentally – non-slip, the Friulians possessed the secret of perfect design, to navigate the cobblestones of the city. In 1952, a businessman who knew how to dream placed his cart full of handmade slippers on the historic Rialto Bridge. With that gesture the velvety world of Piedàterre was born. Powered by a host of enchanted shoppers, the cart remained faithfully in place for 40 years, before the doors of Piedàterre Rialto opened to become the first shop in Venice dedicated exclusively to the historic slipper.
Each pair is unique, made with the highest quality 100% natural cotton velvet and sewn by a network of Italian artisans. The Friulian Piedàterre Venezia are a symbol that colors the idea of dolce vita all over the world, with the sober chic and timeless impact that populate the contemporary wardrobes more attentive to the symbols of cosmopolitan luxury, to show off on every occasion, from aperitifs in Piazza San Marco, the red carpets of New York, the sunsets of the Amalfi Coast or to surprise the audience of an overseas swimming pool.
The historic Rialto shop and the Campo Santo Stefano flagship, opened in September 2021, remain the two original shops in Venice, focused solely on the traditional Venetian slipper, where each shelf explodes with color. Strong or subdued colors, two-tone models and timeless special editions and 100% made in Italy, the Friulian of Piedàterre continue to be an ode to the ingenious Italian spirit that always finds beauty, everywhere and in any case, to shape it into moments or objects totally iconic.
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