About Belvedere

About Belvedere

About Belvedere

About Belvedere

About Belvedere

From Florence to the World: How Belvedere Shoes Started Walking “It’s a beautiful sight” Fort Belvedere, Florence Italy, where Belvedere Shoes got its start? "It's a beautiful sight" Fort Belvedere, Florence Italy, where Belvedere Shoes got its start “They call me the Gator Man,” he says with a laugh. “I don't know why ... they just do.” He shakes his head and chuckles again. Stefano Giovacchini has a thick Italian accent, courtesy of growing up in Florence, Italy. But it’s not just the language and a charming grin that he picked up from home. His passion for luxury footwear blossomed early on, nestled between the tanneries and shoe factories of his youth. Belvedere's story began in 1986 when Stefano moved to California to carve out his career in the shoe industry. He started as many entrepreneurs do: in the back of a garage with a phone extension cord stretching from the kitchen. "Between you and me," he says with amusement. “I hear that's how Google started too, so it's okay.” Stefano Giovacchini, Belvedere Shoes Stefano Giovacchini, "Gator Man" LinkedIn Gaining customers across the Bay Area was tough. At first Stefano's clientele consisted of small shoe stores and boutiques. "They started to buy, some in Burlingame, some on Union Street. Then I showed the shoes to a buyer for Nordstrom in San Mateo. This guy here gave me the chance. He ordered maybe two or three hundred pairs ... for me it was three million pairs. And then they started selling! He talked Read their story