sandals

Have you walked miles and miles, day after day and in hot weather on cobblestones, etc., without blisters or sore feet? Some people could wear sandals without difficulty.. As for me, I need sturdy footwear.

Italians are very fashion conscience, I'm sure you can find a comfortable, fashionable, affordable pair of sandles. Also consider Bernie Mev's, more expensive but worth the investment.
Lorie

I spent two months in Italy last summer. I usually wore my Clarks or Taos sandals and I had no problem wearing them. One occasion on an impromptu hike thru some secluded Etruscan ruins with a cousin I wished I had my running shoes. I had no problem walking miles in either pair of sandals. Hiking I prefer my running shoes (as a marathoner I am used to long periods on my feet)

My husband is not a sandal wearer, but I need sandals - otherwise, my feet get hot and I get cranky (thinking about my 2010 trip when I didn't take sandals and wanted to kick myself in the arse after suffering thru hot sweaty feet all day. Almost picked up some Birks in Germany, but didn't want to go thru the pain of breaking them in, so I suffered for 3 bloody weeks).

I used to wear Naot (who also make men's sandals) but last few trips wore Teva. Worn them everywhere from hikes downhill on the Amalfi coast to all over Rome and Venice, and pretty much lived in them last year in NYC and in the south of France and Paris.

As someone who sold shoes for 12 years, my tips (for men and ladies) - most likely you will want a backstrap so they don't accidently fall off (ummm - been there, done that). Something with adjustable straps - whether Velcro or buckles - is great because if your feet get hot or swell, you can adjust. Hot sweaty feet inside shoes can lead to blisters. Make sure you break them in before going...and, especially in the cities, you may want to take some individual wet wipes or a travel pack of wet foot deodorizers or travel wipes - my feet got especially dirty in Rome and I'd use a wipe on each foot at night to clean em up (unless you are going to shower before bed). But, dirty feet or not, I need to wear sandals.

No one cares what you wear on your feet. Be sure you can walk miles in them. I have a pair of merrell sandals with a good athletic sole that work great in hot weather. I always carry blister bandaids so I can use them at the first sign of irritation since even shoes you wear all the time in the US may begin to hurt when you walk 10 miles in them. I find this truer of sandals than my usual shoes.

Wear any footwear you like. Nobody will care. Italians (and everybody else) have enough to worry about their own lives to bother with looking at other people's feet.
Just make sure they are comfortable, because visiting Italy will likely mean miles of walking every day.

One thing to consider: If you're traveling in southern Italy, especially in smaller towns and less-touristy places, you may run into a few public restrooms with eastern-style toilets. If they are not staffed--which is sometimes the case--they may be absolutely filthy. I would not want to walk into one of them wearing sandals.

I'm with all the other responders--don't worry about what your shoes look like; just be sure they are comfortable for miles and miles and miles of walking.

Last year I read a suggestion to use antiperspirant on your feet to help prevent blisters. I have no idea whether there's any science behind that tip, but I used it and had no blisters despite walking an average of about 7 miles a day for months.

Bring your sandals ! I'm sure you won't wear them on a 10 hour, 15 mile walk around Rome or walking cobblestone streets for hours in the Italian villages, but we have found with years of travel that after an awesome day tootling around, it feels great to put on sandals for dinner and wine or a nice, slow evening stroll !

Thanks for the opinions. I will have a pair of day hikers for hikes or stony ruins but I'll be spending most of my time in my Chacos.