Handmade shoes Made in Italy since 1956

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Passion. Elegance. Pursuit of Perfection. Innovation respecting the Tradition

Passion. Elegance. Pursuit of Perfection. Innovation respecting the Tradition.

These are the cardinal points of Paolo Scafora. The artisanal story of our Family starts in the industrious alleys of Naples in 1956. Since then we have been designing and manufacturing high-end shoes, either ready-to-wear and bespoke. Every day we give new life to craft traditions that are fading elsewhere. Our shoes are totally hand-crafted by talented master artisans sharing solid values with our Family: passion, dedication, abnegation. We only use precious leather, such as French calf, American alligator and cordovan, as well as valuable linings of cashmere, ermine and mink. Every shoe is hand-stitched in accordance with the antique methods of the traditional shoe constructions: Bologna, Goodyear, Norwegian and Tyrolese. Each creation is hand-painted and embellished with unique nuances and sophisticated antique colour effects.

Gennaro Scafora

The eldest of eight children, Gennaro Scafora was born in Naples in 1942. Founder of Paolo Scafora, the firm taking the name from one of his sons, Gennaro was a workshop apprentice in the industrious Neapolitan alleys of the Fifties. He immediately reveals talent and passion for the shoe craftsmanship, by inheriting his father’s legacy and passing it down to his younger brothers. In the Seventies he starts up a small workshop for the production of leather soles. His perseverance and his efforts are finally rewarded. Though, Gennaro does not forget his first love for the fascinating art of the shoe hand-making. His son, Paolo, will learn the secrets of his mastery and make them the driving force of a new enchanting story.

Paolo Scafora

Born in Naples in 1974. As a child he developed a deep passion for the shoe hand-making. While playing with his brothers in their father’s workshop he was fascinated by the smells and the colours of the leather skins as well as by the rhythmic and persistent sounds of the shoemaker tools. As a teenager, after school he used to learn the secrets of the hand-crafting. When he turned twenty, he moved to Milan to deepen his knowledge of the shoe-designing techniques. Thus he combined the manual skills and the design creativity by hand-making bespoke shoes whose echo quickly spread overseas. His need to experiment his curiosity abroad brought Paolo to many countries all over the world. He finally arrived in Australia. Though, after a few years he decided to return to Naples where, together with his brothers, he created the luxury brand taking his own name. This is the beginning of an ambitious story having deep roots in a family workshop.

The Laboratory

Entering the Laboratory, smelling the leather skins, getting fascinated by the hammer clacking and the needle rustling. Memories and emotions are intertwined. Day by day Paolo and his three brothers took the baton of their father Gennaro, who started in the Fifties as a young apprentice in Naples workshops. Today, the third generation is handing down, with passion and dedication, an ancient tradition banning machines and industrial equipment. The mission is achieving high productivity and fulfilling the most daring requests from all over the world, without altering the artisanal quintessence of the Workshop. This objective is pursued by a harmonious team, which is divided into “islands”, small groups of artisans respectively specialized into specific manufacturing steps. Up to twenty or even thirty days are needed to produce each pair by hand. Despite that, the loyal heirs of Neapolitan craftsmanship do not sacrifice quality just to save time. In every Paolo Scafora creation there is pursuit of perfection, love for traditions, attention to details. It is art expression mixed with craftsman mastery. A long story of feelings and passions, created over time and made to last forever.

The Logo

The Paolo Scafora logo embodies the roots, the tradition and the Neapolitan pride of the family-run firm. Indeed, the heart of the logo is the coat of arms of “Terra di Lavoro” (Land of Work), former Province of the Kingdom of Naples, described by the historian Scipione Mazzella in his “Descrittione del Regno di Napoli” (1601). In the middle there are two cornucopias encircled by a royal crown and filled up with the products of “Campania Felix”, the very fertile region celebrated in Ancient Rome. In this logo, the coat of arms is embellished with two rampant lions, symbols of strength and bravery. At the bottom there are two inscriptions: “Genius Loci”, the supernatural entity protecting the territory and the hard work of the local communities; “Neapolis”, the beloved city of Naples preserving an incomparable craftsmanship tradition century after century.