Rome’s Vatican Shoemaker Crafts Footwear for Popes (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Where do Popes buy their shoes? Here in the heart of Rome, a stone throw from the Vatican, is a very special shoemaker. Grazie, Antonio. Antonio Arolano has lived in Italy for more than 30 years, having emigrated to Rome from Peru in 1990. He's from a family of cobblers and is passing down the art of shoemaking to his son, Daniel. Over the years, he's made shoes for cardinals and popes, including the red shoes worn by Pope Benedict XVI and now for Pope Leo, who spent years as a missionary in Arellano's home country.

[00:00:38] Speaker 2: When he saw us, he was like, oh, Arellano, finally I get to know Arellano.

[00:01:03] Speaker 3: We were surprised. He knew us by name, maybe by way of speaking. He spoke to us in Spanish. He said, I carry Peru in my heart.

[00:01:16] Speaker 1: A pair of handcrafted shoes from the Arellano store takes a month and a half to make.

[00:01:21] Speaker 3: Yes, yes, the shoes we make will last at least 20 years. It is made with care, every little detail, from the leather, which must be a resistant leather, but comfortable, to the sole, and then it is always made according to the client's request.