Soul Made: Ciccio Racing Shoes

Francesco “Ciccio” Liberto, humbly describes himself as a “happy shoemaker,” a career he’s had since he was a teenager. What started out as a small workshop for handmade shoes and repairs eventually led—thanks to providence and skill—to Ciccio’s handiwork taking on an iconic status in the world of racing. After his father died when Ciccio was young, his family had to live economically, and as a teenager, continuing his schoolwork was an unaffordable luxury. Not dissuaded, he went into the business of a cobbler, creating tailor-made footwear for his Sicilians customers. Ciccio opened his shop when he was just 16 years old, mainly servicing the demand for orthopedic shoes. Ciccio’s town of Cefalù is close to where the Targa Florio took place, and like most young men his age, Ciccio was not uninterested in motorsports. During one Targa Florio in the mid 1960s, Ciccio found himself in a nearby hotel restaurant with three of Alfa Romeo’s factory drivers. When the conversation came to what each