I'm guessing from guazzare - splashing through water. The part which would be watertight seems to be this vamp apron."A shoe of mocassin-type wherein the border region of the vamp apron is rolled over the edge of the upper, the vamp apron and the upper being stitched together by a seam having two substantially parallel rows of holes in the border region of the vamp apron and a row of holes which in the finished shoe is situated between the two substantially parallel rows of holes and close to the edge of the upper. In order to ensure in such a shoe perfect fluidtightness of the mocassin seam connecting the vamp apron and the edge of the upper, a sealing strip of resilient compressible material is inserted between the inner row of holes of the vamp apron and the row of holes on the upper, the stitching seam passing through the resilient strip and, in the finished shoe, compressing the strip. "

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Note added at 16 hrs 2 mins (2005-12-02 08:41:44 GMT)
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I also thought it could be a "boat sole", which really would splash in the water, but as far as I know these are not hand-stitched.