Buying Italian shoes

Does he want big-name designer shoes? Like Bally, Tod's, etc? Berluti makes gorgeous shoes for men.

https://www.berluti.com/en-us/shoes/?viewtype=grid-view-editorial

If so, Rome, Naples and Florence have plenty of stores.

No need to go to Milan. Your husband will be able to be deprived of most of his money anywhere in the city center of those cities. The tourist centers of those cities are full of shoe stores, practically in every corner, and all of them will be overpriced. To find decent prices you would need to go where local Italians go, i.e. away from the city center, but that would be too much of a hassle for you, since I imagine you would be staying where the tourist sights are. Downtown Florence you can go to Gilardini, Leonardo, Mephisto, Calvani, and, across the Ponte Vecchio, to Mannina, just to name a few.

But Mephisto shoes are so ugly!!! And not Italian!!!!

Tre Donari in Positano has beautiful handmade shoes and the price is very good for the quality.

There was a very small authentic men’s shoemaker shop a couple of doors down from an apartment I stayed in last Spring in Florence. It was located on Via della Chiesa in the Oltrarno neighborhood near Piazza Santo Spirito. I often saw him hand making shoes with apprentices as I walked by.

Mephisto may be ugly, but every year my wife buys something there on Via Martelli. Go figure. Don’t ask me, I buy mine at Nordstrom rack, and in Italy at a couple of factories I know, but they are out in the boonies, not far from Florence, but you need a car.

I buy my shoes from Mr. Benigni in Borgo Ognissanti in Florence. He keeps a line of classic men shoes from a small factory in Naples, not too cheap but not too expensive either.

Since shoes are the only thing he wants and we are not rich we would be willing to seek something out away from the city centers. I appreciate everyone’s responses so far. Very helpful. Thank you.
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In Florence I sometimes go to Fissi Market, on via Lanza. They have two stores p, one is called Fissi 2.0. Not sure if still open.
I’ve also shopped at Scarpamondo, at Novoli, near the Tuscany Region Government building, on the way to the airport. They are cheaper places, but no guarantee your husband will find something he likes. Shoes is something you need to look around in multiple places.

Roberto, agree about Mephisto! Partner and myself have them, but when I took out my sandals to use in summer, after not having seen them since last summer, I was shocked about how hideous they are. But comfy. I remember now that my partner bought a pair in an outlet in Venice, but I can't remember any details. He bought those shoes maybe 20 years ago, had them resoled once (by Mephisto) and still wears them very often. I think the women's are more ugly than the men's.

There are two kinds of male shoe lovers in the world: those who buy Italian, and those who buy British or Hungarian. I buy Hungarian.

Take an afternoon ride to The Mall Firenze in Leccio outside of Florence. There are dedicated buses from Florence. As with all outlets, it's hit or miss, but I have found amazing deals and unique styles from brands like Burberry, Loro Piana, Ferragamo, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Bottega, I could go on. Definitely visit the Hogan/Tod's store - Hogan is a bit of a sleeper, but amazing quality, and I've found truly stunning deals here.

Your husband will want to read the label inside the shoe or on the sole to be sure that the shoe he buys in Italy is made in Italy. Many big brands will be selling shoes made in various non-European countries. If that's important to him more than "I bought these in Italy".

True! The Prada sneakers I bought at Cenci in Rome were made in Vietnam; they are real Prada but not made in Italy. (We used to go to the January sales in Rome; great time to be there, even besides the discounts)

It's a great store for men and women in central Rome.

https://us.davidecenci.com/en_us/roma?___store=en_us&___from_store=en_eu

There was a great scene about getting shoes made in the movie ‘If it’s Tuesday, .this must be Belgium’. Too bad there isn’t a clip of it online