Enzo Bonafe' History

Enzo Bonafè was born in 1935 in Bologna from a very unpretentious family. During the Second World War, all the family escape to the Apennines to find a safer place: it was during the years passed in the mountains, where poverty forced  kids barefooted, that he admits that, unconsciously, his love for shoes were born.

At the end of the war, the family came back to Bologna and, for a couple of years, Enzo did all the works he was able to find in order to gain a bit of money for the family: but his main thought still was toward shoes.

Consequently, on 1948, February the 5th, he had is great chance: he was engaged by Mr. A. Testoni and he had the opportunity to work side by side to him, who taught him the secrets of the art of producing shoes. He became a very good leather cutter and a perfect connoisseur of leather and hide. His general overall experience and knowledge of the production context was naturally growing year by year thanks to the extreme passion Enzo has for his job.

In the same factory, not only the love for shoes grew up, but also the other love of his life: actually, his future wife, Mrs. Guerrina, worked right there, next to him.

After 15 years, he decided to try his big shot: following a personal career, with the great help and the love of his wife. He did his choice for a personal need to rise and to distinguish himself by following his tastes and ideas, more than for economic reasons. Actually, the moment when he opens his very small workroom in Bologna (October 1963), is no good at all for shoe compartment. It is a very hard time and they have great difficulties: nobody helps them, nobody grant credit. But Bonafè, with his shyness and his modesty, is so sure about the quality of his products that he finds the courage to get into the most luxurious boutiques of the main Italian towns to show his set of samples.

Starting from then, the name of Enzo Bonafè become more and more a synonym of style, elegance and quality talking about shoes. Nowadays, exactly 40 years after its birth, Enzo Bonafè s.r.l. still produces very few pairs per days and all the operations are made by hand by very experienced workers; machines just helps workers in realizing a perfect result.

Enzo Bonafè and his  wife still lead their own firm, helped by their children: trusting in quality is their vision and they want Enzo Bonafè shoes to reflect in the world their idea of style.