Bearing witness to civilisation and the objet d’art, the shoes on show in the museum, set in the former Convent of the Visitation, tell the story of footwear from ancient to modern times across 5 continents.

Built in stages from the 17th to the 19th centuries, the building and the gardens around the museum are recorded in the Supplementary Inventory of the Historical Monuments. Tools, machinery, lasts and audiovisual documents trace the history of the shoe. From mummified feet from ancient Egypt to musketeers’ boots, from tiny boots for Chinese women’s bound and mutilated feet to the long pointed shoe, or poulaine from the Middle Ages - all shapes and sizes can be found in the Shoe museum in Romans.