Stivaleria Impero

Prestigious artisan workshop in Rome specializing in made to measure riding boots. It was founded in 1936 by Giovanni Mongiu, a craftsman originally from Sardinia who had trained ever since he was a boy at the Stivaleria Ferrini. He used to make boots for the police in the Italian colonies in Africa, particularly for the cavalry stationed in Libya, Somalia, and Ethiopia. They had a canvas leg with a leather border and laces at the front. The founder of the company died in 1958, but his son, with the same name, decided to continue his father’s business. From 1965 until 1975, he worked mainly for the horseback police, then moved on to the army, for whom he is still the official supplier. Army boots extend up above the knee and are made of glossy lined leather. Memorable clients of the Stivaleria Impero include the d’Inzeo brothers, Prince Alessandro Torlonia, Graziano Mancinelli, Michel Robert, and Frédéric Cottier. The bootmakers still accept orders by correspondence; the client has to fill in a form with foot, leg and calf measurements. Besides the classic riding boot, Mongiu also offers a polo boot with a zip at the front, the Field boot, and the cowherd model in thick leather with leather laces.