Romano martegani shoes

As you may or may not know, board participant RIDER owns/manages the shoe department at Franco's Fine Clothier in Richmond. A few weeks ago in a thread that I can't seem to find, RIDER was commenting on the malleability of many of the smaller Italian shoe manufacturers: they can produce shoes using a variety of construction techniques in a great variety of different patterns finished pretty much however the customer wants. He mentioned that he was getting Romano Martegani, a venerable but rather low-profile maker, to produce a few models for him on a chiseled-toe last in leathers more similar to what the English makers usually use than what usually typifies Italian shoes. I was intrigued. I asked him what designs he was bringing in. He said that one of them was a plain-toe blucher with a floating medallion. I was interested. Then he posted the picture, and I was sold. I ordered a pair: Construction and materials: Combination of Blake and Rapid construction. High-quality French-style leather uppers (interestingly, the tannery's name for the leather is Betis, which is also in Gravati's catalogue). Soles and heels also high-quality. The waist is attractively bevelled. Fit and comfort: Good. The last is roomy, and I ordered a half a size smaller than normal. The fit in the heel wasn't perfect right off the bat, but after some momentary panic, it improved once they were worked over and worn a little bit. I'm very pleased with the shoes. I think that they're very attractive, and they are comfortable and well-made. I doubt that they'll replace Gravati as my favorite mid-range Italian shoe, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for what RIDER brings into his shop. It was a pleasure to do business with him, and I'd recommend him and his shoes highly (and no, I have no affiliation with him whatsoever).

Shoes look very nice. How much were they? (if you don't mind me asking)

Shoes look very nice. How much were they? (if you don't mind me asking)

Click to expand...

Here's the listing on the Franco's website.

Very nice. And sounds like a good value too at that price. Do the soles have channelled stitching?

Great looking shoes.. And an extremely reasonable price-point. I was hoping someone would give them a try. All ya'll who are looking for good shoes at a great price should keep Franco's in mind.

Do the soles have channelled stitching?

Click to expand...

The shoes are made with both Blake construction (stitching through the insole and the outsole) and Rapid construction (stitching around the welt strip), so two sets of stitching go through the outsole. The Blake stitching appears to be channelled, but the channel for the Rapid stitching, though partially closed and camouflaged, is not completely closed.

Well, as I don't want to turn this into too much of an advertisement, I'll simply say Thank You. I am glad you like them; I am very excited about the group of shoes we have done with Martegani. I will post a picture of the construction though, as it is a bit unique and it takes some explaining, which pictures do best. We had a flood last week and lost our main shoe store (and had to f disk the computers), so I don't know if I still have the file, but if I can it is interesting.

[/IMG] if this works, this is a combination Blake/Rapid construction cut-away

Beautiful shoes.  Question- they appear much lighter in the photgraph in this thread than in the link.  Which photo is closer to the true color?

if this works, this is a combination Blake/Rapid construction cut-away

Click to expand...

RIDER's picture link fixed:

Beautiful shoes. Question- they appear much lighter in the photgraph in this thread than in the link. Which photo is closer tot he true color?

Click to expand...

Thanks. The shoes have more red in them than is shown in my picture, but I think that my picture is more reflective of the color than the one on the Franco's website.

jcusey - how did you do that?

jcusey - how did you do that?

Click to expand...

HE'S STANDING BEHIND YOU. Â Your image URL had an extra http:// at the start, Jcusey took it out. Very nice looking shoes, indeed. The last thread featuring Martegani shoes got lost in the forum hiccup a while back, I think - Rider, feel free to post any cool pics you have of the line, especially the two-tones...

I live in Richmond and visit Franco's often... it gets high marks from me other than the occasional salesman who judges me as a 20something not willing to spend... but, this is found all over.

I recall being in the Lakeside Ave. flagship store a couple years ago and being treated like a king by Mr. Ambrogi even though he surely knew I was learning my sizes in new (to me) designers that day...

A picture is worth a thousand words. Thank you RIDER/jcusey for posting the construction details. I don't think I've ever had shoes with perforated insoles before except maybe sneakers.