Have you ever wondered why the Pope's shoes are red? The truth is that they could have a more conventional color like black or brown, for example...If this is so, it is because there has to be a story behind.Following our wake of articles dedicated to the stories behind the shoes, today you it is the turn of the Pope's curious red shoes.
The Pope's shoes: 11 Curiosities
1.In the Byzantine Empire the color red symbolized the power.Only the emperor, the empress and the Pope could use it in their dress.
2.For the Catholic Church the cherry red has always symbolized the blood of the martyrs that they gave their lives for Christ.
3.We can find mentions of the liturgical footwear in documents of the s.VI, although there are representations in mosaics del sV
4.In 1276 Pope Innocent V, wanted to wear a white cassock that remains until now and symbolizes peace.
5.The craftsman Adri ano Stefanelli has his workshop in Novara (north of Italy) is responsible for making these shoes entirely handmade and made of leather.For this craftsman these shoes mean the "purity of the soul."
6.In 2008, after a false leak, the Vatican had to deny that the shoes were Prada .
7.Other personalities have bought these shoes, among them: the president of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the president of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez, Barack Obama or George W.Bush .
8.The shoes cost about 600 euros although the craftsman always gives them to the Pope.
9 If the shoes are damaged, they are not thrown away, they are sent to the Peruvian craftsman Antonio Arellano , who has the repair shop a few meters from the Vatican The shoes were taken by the same or by his collaborators to the workshop.The craftsman charged him just like another client.
10.Stephanelli proudly remembers that Pope Benedict XVI, a few years ago, obtained the title of the best dressed man in the world, especially because of its accessories, according to the American magazine "Esquire".
11.The shoes of John Paul II were more garnets and those of Benedict XVI more reds .
Benedict XVI and traditions in dress
Benedict XVI (Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger) was a Pope who recovered many of the ancient traditions in the dress of the Popes, including:
- The golden slave girl
- The «mozzeta» layer that covers the pats and closes in the chest
- Red shoes
- Wide-brimmed hat called "Saturn"
- The red "caumaro" cap edged with armino (very used in the Renaissance) that caused him great disgust at the protest of environmentalists.
However, the current Pope Francis I has preferred to wear the ring of Silver fisherman instead of gold, the pectoral cross is made of metal and without ornaments and only wears the cassock without the crutch.
On other occasions other Popes also used red shoes and cape, like Juan Paul II.However, Pope Franscisco wears the same shoes as when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.In this sense, he does not seem to care too much that his glasses are somewhat damaged.
If you like stories about shoes, you might also be interested Shoes, curious s objects
Image: Madrid1, Anthony Majanlahti
Comments
Post a Comment