"I love Italian shoes". That is the name of a new initiative from Italian shoe-makers aimed at buffing up flagging sales abroad. But shoes are not the only Italian products to have lost their shine of late.
The small and medium-sized companies that produce a wide range of the country's trademark, "Made in Italy" goods say they are suffering like never before. They blame bureaucracy, the strong euro currency and a wave of cut-price imports from Asia.
From manufacturers of bathroom fittings to luxury textiles, globalisation has left many Italian companies - and some of the country's most powerful politicians - hankering for a return to the days of protectionism.
Italy's share of global exports in its traditional sectors slumped almost a third between 1987 and 2000 to 13 per cent, while China's stake virtually quadrupled to 15 per cent.
Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has led an outspoken campaign against the surge in imports from Asia and recently urged the European Union to cut red tape to help boost the region's competitiveness.
"If rules continue to be made on poultry (for example), Europe will end up like a chicken... in other words, in the pot of a Chinese cook," Mr Tremonti said after hosting a meeting of his European counterparts in September.
While many Italian firms say they are struggling to beat China in terms of costs, they say they still win hands down in terms of quality and style.
"We want to make the consumer aware of the elegance, quality and style of Italian shoes. The Italian shoe is a shoe to love in the true sense of the word," said Rossano Soldini, president of Italian shoemakers association ANCI.
However, Mr Soldini says foreigners' love affair with Italian elegance has been hit by the surging euro.
The euro has jumped around 30 per cent against the dollar since the start of the year, whacking all sorts of exports.
"There was certainly a major slowdown in US demand," said Pietro Fanticini, a cheese-maker from Parma who exports 60 percent of his produce.
"The worst was the initial impact when it was unclear how long the euro would hold up against the dollar," he said.
But critics say Italy's problems run deeper than over-regulation or currency fluctuation, and lie principally in a lack of innovation over the years.
Analysts say Italy's cottage industries - once a backbone of production - are predominantly in slow growth sectors and little adapted to a changing economic environment.
"Countries that have seen most growth are those which are focused on modern products - electronics and information technology," said Fedele De Novellis, an economist at Milan-based research group REF.