There are about 6,500 people living in the group of villages that make up Bagni di Lucca. At Daddo Calzature in La Villa I think there might be several pairs of shoes for every man, woman and child.
the entrance to the shoe shop
They sell all kinds of shoes, but seem to specialise in hiking boots. This makes sense as there is lots of excellent trekking to be done in the area. Jim bought a fine pair of boots which have served him well on his forays into the mountains. (Click here to see where he went on one of his trips). They cost him only60 euro and have given years of faithful service.
lots of hiking boots
There are 3 rooms stacked to the ceiling with shoes. I suspect there are even more in an upstairs storage area. The people working here seem to know each pair.
paked to the rafters
another room full of shoes
Stepping into the shop is like going back in time, in the nicest possible way. The oldish gentleman working there told us the shop used to be in the space under our apartment many years ago. Clearly that wasn’t big enough and they moved to their present position at 27 Via Umberto I – the main street in La Villa. The business has been going for at least 50 years and looks set to last another 50 at least.
Call in and say hello, your next pair of shoes might be waiting for you there.