Changing Shoes in Public in Italy

Do you take your uncomfortable shoes off, change shoes and walk around in more comfortable, flat shoes? Tried it in Italy lately? Want laughs and unbelieving looks?

Two weeks ago, I tried to walk 30 minutes to a church outside of town wearing some beautiful black strappy sandals, with black roses adorning the straps. Except when I arrived at the church, my feet had grown blisters under the charming black straps. The sandals quickly lost their charm.

After church, I hobbled over to a small market (open on Sunday, to my luck) and looked for some relief for blistered feet. Italian band aids, perfetto! Bandaging up my feet, I hobbled home.

A few days ago, I walked over across the City of Viterbo to a church for a wedding wearing my flip flops. It was a twenty minute walk from one side to the other, where the church was. The only nice shoes I had to wear for a wedding were those horrid blister-grabber sandals. So, outside the church, I removed my comfortable flip flops, and put on my uncomfortable, stylish, black sandals. The ceremony will only take one hour, I thought. Then, I’ll change my shoes back to the flip flops, for the walk back home.

As I was changing my shoes standing by the church, two Italians, a man and a woman, noticed me changing my shoes and laughed, covering their mouths with their hands. They had a disbelieving look on their faces. They were part of the wedding attendees too. What is so funny?, I thought.

Maybe they are laughing at something else? So I plopped the flip flops in my bag and went in the church for the wedding.

After the wedding, I was standing in the street by Frankie and Stephano, two Italians who spoke English. They thanked me for attending the wedding. My friend Kathleen and I decided to leave to walk back across town. I took off my horrid sandals and put on my flip flops.

Frankie and Stephano started laughing, just like the first couple, with disbelieving looks. I told them I was changing shoes because the black ones caused blisters, and I did not want to endure that again. They just kept laughing like they had not seen anyone change shoes before.

So do Italian women just hobble about in uncomfortable shoes? They seem to wear high, spiked heels on the cobblestone streets, which amazes me. Don’t they worry about a sprained ankle? A trip and fall perhaps?

Shoe changing must be another cultural difference. Savy, American women have no need for uncomfortable shoes, no matter how cute and stylish they are! My feet are proud to be American!