Shoes for Rome, Italy and beyond (my 2 cents)
 

BRING SHOES YOU WOULD WEAR FOR A DAY AT THE COUNTRY FAIR.

Make them nice black ones if you can, but don't let sore feet wreck your trip.

It took me a lot of years to admit that often I was grumpy or not having a good time because subconsciously I wasn't comfortable -- the pants were too tight, the dress showed a little bit too much, or the shoes just weren't giving me enough support -- like keds or converse.

So for this trip I went out and spent on a nice looking supportive thick pair of sandals by Naot. Solved right? WRONG. Despite all that, the cobblestones, uneven streets and sidewalks, stone stairs etc were still causing my feet and back enough discomfort that I just wasn't enjoying Rome. The sandals (and a pair of Jambus) were just fine for Morocco and France, including Paris. But the ancient streets of Rome got me.

So after some pitiful, grumpy days I looked up ECCO and Mephisto online, found a store that had them both, and bought a pair of black lace ups that I would never have considered buying before this trip, let alone wearing to a niceish lunch place. But from the moment I laced them up Rome became beautiful again.

(And if I go somewhere really polished, I can always slip strappy Italian sandals into my bag and slip them on just before entering!)

And along the way I have learned that it's not so much the clothes that make Italian women classy, it's their charm and good grace -- always a polite word for everyone, always time for a buongiorno before they ask for something.

(Now I know someone will pop in with a crack about baggage weight, or making generalities -- of course each person needs to know themselves. At 19 I ran up and down these hills in who knows what shoes, for 16-18 hours a day. But for those looking for this topic, I offer my perspective. From a happy person now walking many miles a day.)

How about a link to your lace ups. Thanks.

Truth is that some women will find Naot more comfortable than the shoes you are recommending.

It's great advice to tell people comfortable shoes are the key to being happy in Italy. That's why the Italians themselves make such very comfortable shoes, and therefore smile so much. But exactly which brand is the right brand for your feet is something you can only know by trying specific shoes on specific feet.

Many non-Italians do not recognize Italian tourists when they are visiting such places as London, Vienna or Paris. But if you ever see Italian women outside of Italy being tourists, you will notice that they are wearing comfortable shoes with good support on their feet. Despite self-proclaimed "experts" making fun of American tourists on the internet for their tourist garb, Italians understand when you visit Rome you'll need shoes with support if you are walking all day.

It is not a great idea to spend thousands of dollars on air fare & hotel bills but fail to spend enough on shoes to make the trip enjoyable.

I think the (first) key to a comfortable shoe is finding the last that works for your feet. They vary by manufacturer, so one person's heavenly Ecco/Mephisto lace-up is another's torture device.

FWIW, I have the most luck with Clark's.

It's definitely a very personal thing. I also find that Mephistos and Ecco shoes tend to suit my feet, as well as Josef Seibel and some Clarks.

<i>That's why the Italians themselves make such very comfortable shoes, and therefore smile so much. </i>

This is also very personal. I've been living in Italy for nearly 20 years and have yet to find Italian shoes that I can wear. I have high arches, and most Italian shoes have little or no arch support. I also have a foot that's narrow at the heel and wide, or, rather, sort of square, at the toe. Italian shoes that are wide enough for my foot slip off at the heel.

I just looked at the Naot webpage, and can see at a glance that the footbed of their sandals is way too flat for me.

The best advice I can give someone about shoes for Rome is to bring a pair of well-worn-in shoes that you know you can wear all day and walk long distances in. If that means athletic shoes, so be it. Lots of Italian women wear nothing but athletic shoes.

I myself prefer sandals in the summer, and have several pairs that are Rome-pavement certified.

SAS shoes work well for me in Rome.

Oh YES. My point was certainly not to tell anyone what brand to wear -- just not to worry about fashion and be comfortable. My other shoes were just fine walking for hours in Moroccan back streets, and hills, but didn't cut it here.

And that we don't always recognize that our "comfy" shoes are not giving us the support that we need and that our back ache or just plain tiredness comes from the shoes. Like Keds which were my go-tos for years.

bvlenci, I have the exact same problem! Which is why I went to lace ups. Eccos in fact work for me in general. I would love to know which Italian sandals work for you because of course I would prefer to wear sandals!

Bedar, I tried on 5-6 different brands all of which would be great on the right foot. Any of the well supported shoes would work but it has to fit YOU. And it won't be cheap. As Massimop says, after spending on the trip, just bite the bullet and buy the shoes. That was the hard part for me, acknowledging that more expensive shoes really do make a difference in my whole day and my whole experience. NO one in Rome will notice I'm wearing the same shirt from two days ago, but everyone will notice my sunny disposition lol.

Ciao!

As I said, I haven't found any Italian shoes that work well for me, and that also goes for sandals. It's not that I haven't tried. We live in Le Marche, which is the Italian capital of the shoe industry.

Most of my sandals are Mephisto or Ecco. I have a comfortable pair of Finn Comfort sandals, and I do have a pair of SAS sandals. I used to be able to find a Hungarian brand called Muraade near where my daughter in the US lives, but I can't find them any more. I think maybe they've gone out of business.

By the way, my Italian husband got a pair of SAS moccasin-type shoes in the US about 12 years ago, and since then they're the only shoes he wears. He has four pairs, and he's even mail ordered SAS shoes when a visit to the US wasn't on the horizon. So even an Italian will occasionally find a better shoe outside Italy.