548 Best Places to Shop in Italy

Now with branches in Milan, Florence, Bologna, New York, and Tokyo, the original home of Eataly is probably Turin's most famous food emporium. In addition to the market, there are kitchenware and cookbook stores, plus several different counters and restaurants serving pizza, pasta, gelato, and more Italian goodies.

For a one-of-a-kind piece from Capri, head to this concept shop just a two-minute walk from the Piazzetta. You'll find chic caftans, beachwear, bags, and home decor featuring drawings by the owner's grandmother (a prominent figure during the island's Dolce Vita heyday) reinterpreted in a modern way.

This is not your grandmother's lace—these fourth-generation lace makers have updated their designs to produce exquisite bed linens, lampshades, and other items.

Maurizio and Tiziana's shop has an arresting array of cheeses and perhaps the best array of verdure sott'olio in town. They also make top-notch panini, and killer sweets.

A huge selection of wines, as well as an ancient cellar, make this place worth a stop. For the cost of the wine only, tastings can be organized through the shopkeepers and are held in the cellar or outside in a lovely little piazza. All of this can be paired with affettati misti (sliced cured meats) and cheeses of the highest caliber.

This studio has been casting brass, bronze, copper, and pewter into artistic handles, menorahs, Carnevale masks, and real gondola decorations (which make great paperweights, bookends, or shelf pieces) since 1913. The coups de grâce are the brass chandeliers, exactly like those that hang in the Oval Office in the White House. Call to arrange a visit to the studio in Cannaregio when they pour.

Run by a second-generation shoemaker, this shop is one of the only places left in the city still producing Venice's iconic friulane slippers, invented in the 19th century and hand-stitched from velvet and rubber. The shoes are still worn by gondoliers today.

A visit to this inlaid-wood shop, now in its third generation of Sorrentine craftsmen, takes you back in time. The jewelry, musical boxes, and wooden pictures are particularly fine.

Beloved of artists and celebrities, this traditional printer run by amiable Gianni and his son creates handmade business cards, stationery, and invitations using vintage letterpress machinery. You can choose from the selection on offer or have your own custom designed and shipped to you at home. Ask Gianni about the history of the place and his loyal global clientele, and he'll likely regale you with tales and a tour of his lovingly curated museum-workshop. Don't touch the antique equipment, though.

Cobbler-designer Giovanna Zanella Caeghera creates whimsical contemporary footwear in a variety of styles and colors. She was a student of the famous Venetian master cobbler Rolando Segalin.

A hat shop that's been around since 1901 offers an assortment of Venetian and gondolier straw hats, Panama hats from Ecuador, caps and berets, and some select scarves of silk and fine wool; there's even a special corner dedicated to accessories for antique cars.

One of Florence's oldest paper-goods stores is the place to buy marbleized stock, which comes in many formats, from flat sheets to paper-covered boxes or even pencils.

At Godi Fiorenza, Patrizia Fiorenza's designs in silk chiffon appear more sculpted than sewn—they're highly tailored pieces that both conceal and expose. Her sister Samanta is a jewelry designer and silversmith whose unique pieces compliment any outfit.

For a most unique and uplifting shopping experience, drop into Fabrizio Fazio's workshop and discover his entertaining, self-made journey to become the maestro craftsman of the traditional tamburo drum. Using traditional methods and natural products, including goatskin and wood, Fabrizio (a force of nature) creates variously sized drums for religious festivals, folkloric processions, and popular musicians. His workshop is filled with instruments of various sizes and timbres, which you can buy (he sends them globally). The tools of his trade and—most voluminously, his palpable passion for his craft—come through with every instrument.  

This tiny shop is a holdout of Via Margutta's days as a street full of artists and artisans. Sandro Fiorentino's father opened the shop in 1969 (he carved plaques like the one that marks Federico Fellini's house up the street), and Sandro still engraves the marble by hand. The shop is packed full of plaques, many with clever phrases, which make a great souvenir. Sandro will also engrave a message of your choice upon request.

One of several locations in the historic center, this place has been making that classic Florentine peacock paper for decades.

This petite shop is the best place in town to find traditional Venetian wool capes, known as tabarro, and classic hats, such as the Ezra Pound (soft fedora), the tricorno (three-cornered hat), and the cilindro (top hat).

Photograph albums, frames, diaries, and other objects dressed in handmade paper are high quality and they also accept custom orders.

For more than 50 years, INOR dal 1952 has served as a trusted friend for Romans in need of an exclusive wedding gift, delicate stemware, or oh-so-perfect china place settings for a fancy Sunday lunch. Entrance is via a secluded 15th-century courtyard and up a flight of stairs. The store specializes in work handcrafted by the silversmiths of Pampaloni and Bastianelli in Florence.

Monica Martin's wonderful art studio is housed in the ex-monastery turned arts hub not far from the Palanca vaporetto stop. Drop by to see the artist at work on her vibrant, cartoonlike watercolor paintings of Venice. The shop is full of her other artworks, designs, and gift ideas such as ceramics, mugs, accessories, stationery, and more experimental mixed-media pieces.

A great deal of so-called Burano Venetian lace is now machine-made in China—and there really is a difference. Unless you have some experience, you're best off going to a trusted place. Jesurum has been the major producer of handmade Venetian lace since 1870, and now specializes in lace incorporated into elegant home linens, such as beautiful bedsheets, bath towels, and placemats.

This is a treasure trove of papier-mâché objects, panels, and masks designed for the theater stage. Their masks have starred on catwalks and in commercials and films, including Casanova, Gambit, and Eyes Wide Shut. Mask-making classes are offered by appointment.

Head to this bonkers emporium for an entertaining and eye-popping perusal of 20th-century antiques and ephemera, from vintage stereo equipment and funky furniture to quirky artworks and designer handbags.

Seek out this small shop hidden away near the end of Via Garibaldi to meet the wonderful, engaging female artists working on their striking and colorful contemporary glass jewelry.

Tailored jackets with exotic trims, dresses in eclectic prints and bold colors, and smart linen suits are some of the offerings at this airy, spacious boutique curated by Soledad Twombly (daughter-in-law of painter Cy Twombly). In addition to her original designs, look for a sophisticated mix of antique Turkish and Indian textiles, jewelry, shoes, and small housewares picked up on her travels.

This lovely store features chic, contemporary glassware designed in the style of Murano master Carlo Moretti.

Despite the great popularity of the Venetian Carnevale, mask making is a dying art in the city. The large majority of masks for sale in the shops and kiosks of Venice are kitsch made in Asia and have little (if any) relationship to the popular local tradition. A shining exception is Sergio and Massimo Boldrin's Bottega dei Mascareri. Staunch traditionalists, the Boldrin brothers re-create beautiful and historically accurate versions of the masks of the Venetian commedia dell'arte. They have also carefully extended their repertoire to include masks inspired by characters in Tiepolo's paintings, thereby inventing new masks while remaining true to the spirit of 18th-century Carnevale. A mask from Bottega is about as close to the "real thing" as you can get.

Experience olive oil in all its permutations at La Bottega dell'Olio. The shop, which is tucked into a small piazza, has a great collection of fine olive oils, as well as bath products made from olive oil.

Set in a dazzling, seven-story space, Italy's best-known department store is packed top to bottom with luxury goods, from cosmetics, handbags, and accessories to ready-to-wear designer sportswear to kitchen items and housewares. Even if you're not planning on buying anything, the basement excavations of a Roman aqueduct and the roof terrace bar with its splendid view are well worth a visit. There's also a location at Piazza Fiume.

A publisher of fine handmade paper, prints, and books, La Scuderia sells beautiful art tomes as well as lovely postcards, hand-crafted leather journals, stationery, desk accessories, and objets d'art.