http://www.pratesishop.com/information_pages.php?info_id=8 A brief outline of the history of the Pratesi leatherware manufacturing company. To discover the origins of the Pratesi company we have to go back to when a shrewd and intelligent Florentine, Egidio Pratesi, was an evacuee in Rome during the second world war a few years later, in 1948, he was to have the opportunity of a lifetime. Italy at that time was a country completely destroyed by the bombing and just about everyone was trying to find a means of survival by inventing practically any kind of job which would allow them to make a living. Egidio lost no time and took advantage of all the fervent expansion which was going on at that time in the world of the cinema and film - making. In no time at all he was on the film - making scene as a costume designer and tailor of a number of the costumes used in the making of the film " Quo Vadis " the famous film set in ancient Rome. He got to work putting together the leather shields worn by the centaurs who battled it out in the coliseum. All this led to a remarkable success as well as the necessary funding which allowed him to continue his activity as artisan making small leather goods such as picture frames, keyfobs, and belts. After having such a successful start he felt he just could not stop there and so he decided to set up a proper workshop where he could not only continue making small leather goods but also adventure into making his very first bags. 's.