Pantofola d’Oro. A legendary story
The old Lazzarini cobbler’s shop was founded in 1886 in Ascoli Piceno. But it was in the Fifties, when Emidio took over the business from his father, that the legend of Pantofola d’Oro (the Golden Slipper) took root.
Emidio Lazzarini was a wrestler, but the shoes he wore in competition were uncomfortable and unsuitable. A born shoemaker, he made his own wrestling shoes, softer and more comfortable than the ones he was used to wearing. The word soon got around, and many other wrestlers commissioned him to make custom shoes for them as well.
Lazzarini understood at once that his shoes could also be of interest to other athletes, for example, football players. And that is how the story of the company started:
making shoes for the Ascoli football team. All the players were soon his regular clients.
The shoes slowly evolved to perfection: exceptionally soft, they allow the foot room to move while giving outstanding ball control. The secret lay in the soft calf-leather used for the sole instead of the usual heavy leather, and their ergonomic form which perfectly follows the con- tours of the foot.
John Charles, the legendary Juventus player, was the one who gave Lazzarini football boots their name: “These aren’t boots, they’re slippers, golden slippers”. The name stuck, and now all foot- ball players in the top teams prefer Lazzarini boots on their feet.
Garrincha, Altafini, Bergomi, Boniperti, Capello, Di Canio, Falcao, Klinsmann, Mancini, Mazzola, Riva, Rivera, Sivori, Van Basten and Zoff are a few names from the long list of players who wear Lazzarini football boots.
But Pantofola d’Oro isn’t just football. The same care and craftsmanship goes into all other sporting footwear by Emidio Lazzarini, with rugby boots taking pride of place. For rugby Lazzarini adapted his football models, giving them a reinforced toe and higher upper. Lazzarini rugby boots have been worn by winning teams such as Amatori Aquila in the 1951-52 A League championships, and immediately earned the admiration and respect of both players and coaches.
In Italian rugby, one of the poorer sports in terms of money but among the richest in sporting tradition, the players used to bring their packed lunches to the pitch and went to away games on the backs of trucks, often under the rain and heavy weather. Such a passion for their sport, which made light of difficulties and privations, could not but win the admiration of a wrestler like Emidio Lazzarini.
Pantofola d’Oro is now giving new life to the values of its founder by proposing a line of shoes inspired by the models worn by Italian teams in the many fiercely fought battles of this epic, glorious sport. Today, in recognition of its roots, Pantofola d'Oro is proud to offer football and sport-inspired leisure shoes.

How a Pantofola d’Oro is made
Pantofola d’Oro is made according to the ancient methods of handicraft shoes and is the fruit of the long experience and centuries old tradition of the master shoemakers from Ascoli. Using only the most valuable leathers, it is set up and sewn totally by hand; in fact, Pantofola d’Oro shows some minor differences which prove the product’s unique quality and represent the distinctive sign of hand made shoes. Its exclusive anatomic shape – which delicately contains the foot – makes Pantofola d’Oro particularly comfortable and is the result of more than 100 years of experience gained in the football world.