One option open to tourists overloaded with Florence's artistic riches is to go and buy some of the crocodile-trim stilettos worn by Marilyn Monroe in the movie Some Like It Hot.
If 1,800 euros seems too much for a pair of 11-cm heels designed in 1958, a cheaper alternative is a pair of red silk and velvet sandals, as made for Ava Gardner in 1947. A black version, preferred by Eva Peron, goes for 800 euros.
Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian who became 'shoe-maker to the stars' in the Hollywood of the 1920s, was always recognised as a visionary and he is one of the reasons Italian shoes are famous the world over.
His designs, which were frequently copied, ranged from the strikingly bizarre to the traditionally elegant. Either way, the stars loved them and they became synonymous with style and sophistication.
An expanded museum space has just opened in Florence where visitors can just gawp at many of Ferragamo's most famous shoes even if they don't fancy splashing out on the specially made replicas.
The museum is in the 13th-century palazzo the shoe designer bought on the banks of the Arno in 1938. By looking at what the divas of the age had on their feet, it provides a unique view of classic Hollywood glamour.
Among the creations on display are the 'ballerinas' made for Audrey Hepburn, some towering stilettos created for Sophia Loren and the multi-coloured cork platform sandals which caused a sensation when worn by Judy Garland in 1937.
But there are also other famous models, such as the 'invisible' shoe made in 1947, using a single thread of nylon on a high-heeled sole, and the revolutionary F-shaped heels of the same year.
The museum in Palazzo Feroni also contains the original table and tools used by the Italian in his Hollywood workshop. Other historical knick-knacks include shoe receipts made out for Marilyn Monroe, patented shoe designs and the wooden shoe-forms made for Rita Hayworth, Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich.
Salvatore Ferragamo, whose shoe business expanded into a global luxury goods group, was born near Naples in 1898 and emigrated to America at the age of 16. Nine years later he opened the shoe shop in Hollywood which quickly became popular with film stars.
Some of his early clients were Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. But in the end practically all the faces on the silver screen came to him, looking for the shoes they needed to match their image.
One of Ferragamo's famous achievements was to invent the 'wedge' sandal, a creation which was lapped up by Hollywood actresses and aspiring starlets.
He even made the glittering ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz.
Ferragamo died in 1960 at the age of 62 but his name lives on as an international company, which has expanded its operations to include luxury shoes, bags, eyewear, silk accessories, watches, perfumes and a ready-to-wear clothing line.
