Hi, I´m going to visit Milano in September, I want to spend there three days on my bare feet. Does somebody have some experiences with barefooting there? Or is here someone who lives in Milano? Thx
yes, i'm from there, but i abandoned the big city for Tuscany long long ago. I''ve been back barefoot in Milan and generally speaking they stare a lot but stay quiet, while in Rome they can also yell and insult you. lately there is a lot of social pressure driven by the 'Lega' party politics that advocate the cleansing of the city from 'scum' so at least try to 'dress' in a way that tells you are not a hobo (if someone refers to you as 'barbùn', 'barbòne' they are calling you a hobo). you see, there are a lot of idiots around with a damned will to give vent to their aggressiveness at the expenses of some 'undesirable person' , like the gay (three mayor aggressions in three days), the non-white or eastern foreigners and the homeless so use your best clothes , and wave some expensive gadget.
Im going there in september too and although the majority of the time il be shod, i do plan to leave my friends for a wander sans shoes at some point. im sure you'l be fine
We just finished a tour of Italy, including Milan and as far as I could see, bare feet were simply "not done". If you intend to visit any churches, archeological sites, or museums, you'll need some sort of footwear, or you'll be denied entrance. Anything will do, flips, tivas, whatever (the vast majority of tourists I saw were wearing flips). There were a few places, such as Pompeii and in the countryside, where I was able to get away with it easily, but otherwise, it's just not worth the hassle. As a visitor with limited time in another country, I have bigger fish to fry... I'll also second jagerhans' comments. Folks in the city will be much more accommodating if you dress as if you have money; i.e., clean, relatively new clothing. Longer shorts (past the knee) or long pants are recommended if you want to enter a church, and a collared shirt seems to score a few points in some establishments. As an aside, be sure to visit the Duomo di Milano (cathedral) while in Milan if you've any interest at all in Gothic architecture. It gets relatively little press but rivals Notre Dame in Paris for sheer Gothic splendor.
in church ? long pants are the best. they don't mind bare feet, and if for some strange accident someone does, as i said in another post you may pretend to be catholic and doing a penitence or a vow. tell them 'voto' or 'penitenza'... lol. that will be enough to close their mouths of course if you're not dressed like a punk. and yes, don't forget to visit our cathedral.
