After almost three months on the road my best (and only) boots were in serious need of a clean, so I stepped into the little shoemaker’s shop in Mantova hoping the man there might do the job for me. He did, but when I walked out forty minutes later it wasn’t only with boots that looked like new again.

The first clue that this was no ordinary cobbler was found in the window of the small shop tucked away behind one of Mantova’s main piazzas. Proudly displayed there were two very unusual pairs of men’s shoes.

I later discovered the red, white and green shoes had been made for the Italian President, and the red ones featuring the Albanian double-headed eagle, were for Pope Francis. Crafted from the finest Italian leather, these unique shoes had been handmade by Petrit Kozeli.

Petrit brought his family to Mantova around twenty-five years ago. He remains a proud Albanian and is also a fiercely loyal Italian.

The walls of Petrit’s shop are covered with photographs of him with some of Italy’s foremost entertainers and journalists. But it’s Petrit’s long-term, behind-the-scenes work in the community that has earned him the country’s highest honour, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy.

In 2015 Petrit created the shoes for Pope Francis to commemorate the Pontiff’s visit to Albania the previous year. At the time, the Pope described the small Balkan nation as a model of religious harmony.

Petrit’s shoes were delivered to Pope Francis and the letter of thanks he received from the Vatican in reply is also proudly displayed.

But what is hinted at there on the walls of the shoemaker’s shop is truly obvious only in the man himself – Petrit is absolutely committed to making the world a more peaceful place. And appropriately his message includes a metaphor relevant to his work – ‘camminiamo insieme‘ (let’s walk together). ‘Though we walk in different shoes and on different paths‘ Petrit says, ‘with tolerance and respect we all can walk together in peace‘. It’s a simple yet important message; what a different place the world would be if we heeded Petrit’s advice.

Petrit is optimistic, funny, skillful and wise, and by the time I left his shop in Mantova that morning I was grateful for so much more than my shiny shoes.

And now each time I pull on those boots and think of my new friend, I’m reminded to be just a bit more aware of how I tread and of the footprints I’m leaving behind.