Patania studio it's a local Italian heritage shoe company, that was founded in 1875 and existed at least to the end of 1960s. The second generation of this shoemaker's family Giovanni PATANIA was a cobbler by trade in Sicily and the father of the renowned American jewelry designer Frank PATANIA Sr. (1899–1964). In early 1900s Giovanni left Sicily, coming to the United States through New York’s famed Ellis Island, to seek out better opportunities for his family. Giovanni’s wife Angela and their three children stayed in Messina, Italy, also were forced to leave in the final months of 1908 after a devastating earthquake. But the family artisanal traditions in Sicily have not been interrupted. Today, the Patania family is famous for making the traditional Sicilian Pupi, the famous puppet, antique "Coffe" baskets, that have been turned into straw bags covered with velvet, fringes and leather, and other art & craft goods.