Shoe Repair Florence Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

In one of my earliest blog entries, I wrote about meeting the shoe repair team of Giuseppe and his father Signore Carmine. I had been walking down Via dei Pepi in central Firenze, Italia, when Giuseppe tried to entice me into his shoppe. He was not doing such a good job, but his father was much smoother in his approach and won me over.

Since then I have seen Giuseppe on various occasions over the years, including back in February of this year when a friend and I saw him in a bar we had ducked into for a drink. I asked after his father and learned that he had died months before my return to Italia this time. On June 9th, I posted on Facebook:

“Gotta love Italia! I got kissed today - smack on the lips, too! My favorite sandal broke in the studio this afternoon, so I went by to see Giuseppe at the shoe store. We met 6 years ago when I was walking down Via dei Pepi and G's father coaxed me off of the street and into his shoe repair shop. G ran after me after I left the stop that day and dropped some shoe polish in my bag, saying, "Nostro segreto" This evening, as he glued my shoe back together, he said, "sono innamorato a te." He would not let me pay for the shoe repair and also gave me a "regalo" of some cushion inserts (in my size, naturally), but was happy with his little surprise move on me - hahah. I suppose I will always have my feet taken care of! Sadly, his father died earlier this year....

Well, the responses were quite fun! Several women came forward to say that I told the story perfectly, just the way Giuseppe is with ALL the girls who pass his shoppe! One musician friend of mine said that his girlfriend felt she had to find a new shoe repair place because Giuseppe was so naughty. But I think that our Giuseppe is harmless, although maybe that is the cruelest thing to say to/about a man, especially a Romeo.

Before the kiss he gave me, I had told him that I had a pair of winter shoes that needed repair (in fact, they were the same pair that I wrote about many years ago). As luck would have it, the bottoms of my favorite sandals became separated. So, I returned to the shoe repair shoppe and left my two pairs of shoes with Giuseppe’s mamma. She wanted to up the ante and offered to replace the heels of my winter shoes. So, I agreed hesitantly and went to the studio.

However, I returned a day later to find that not only had they not started the work (because the mother was not sure if I wanted the extra service), but Giuseppe told me that he would lower the price and glue my sandals for free if I would wait a moment. He also gave me another regalo; this time it was BLACK shoe polish for the pair I had left with him. Of course, he got another kiss, as he asked me to dinner. I joked with him that now I know for a fact that I am not the only woman he is “enamored” by and I think he is quite the playboy. He laughed, denied it all, but then exclaimed, “Well, at least you know that I am not gay!”

It was a week or so before I was able to get back (this past Friday). My leather shoes look lovely again! And again Giuseppe asked me about my boyfriend and also how long I would be in Italy. To deter him, I told him that I would be returning to Santa Margherita for a few days (true). It did not work. He simply asked if we could have dinner together after I return. Ha… persistence is the key, man. I also received another gift, this time a pair of black shoe laces since he noticed how worn mine were. I asked for his permission to take photographs of us together and to talk about him and his shoppe on my blog. He gave me his address too. so if you need some shoe repair and want a bit more personal attention . . .

Petrocelli Giuseppe - Lavorazione e Riparazione - Pelletteria e Scarpe
Via dei Pepi, 28-30 R (R stands for the red lettered address numbers)
50122 Firenze, Italia
Tel. 055 2345099