283 Best Places to Shop in Italy

For food lovers, people-watchers, or anyone interested in the lively local scene, the immensely popular market in this huge square to the north of town is not to be missed. Outdoors, the keepers of hundreds of vegetable stands vie with one another to create the most appetizing displays. Indoors, the meat vendors provide an equally tantalizing array of local products, while the fishmongers proudly display the fresh catch of the day.

Under the Salone there's an impressive food market where shops sell choice salami and cured meats, local cheeses, wines, coffee, and tea. With the adjacent Piazza delle Erbe fruit and vegetable market, you can pick up all the makings of a fine picnic. On weekends and public holidays, the piazza is often filled with fabulous street food, as well as wine and beer stalls.

Look out for the striking Fascism-era signage typography above the door---TIPOGRAFIA---and enter Verona's oldest printing press, opened in 1750 and run by the Conte family since the '30s. Marvel at the well-oiled working machinery, tools, and rows of printing blocks before perusing their striking, colorful prints and stationery. Since 2000 it's become a nonprofit cultural association.

The essence of a Florentine holiday is captured in the sachets of this Art Nouveau emporium of herbal cosmetics and soaps that are made following centuries-old recipes created by friars. 

This historic food market is still the daily shopping center for residents of Ortigia and mainland Siracusa. Seafood stalls display the catch of the day, ranging from local clams that you'll find in most restaurants to sea urchins that normally only appear on the more expensive menus. Even in the colder months, the vegetable and fruit stalls are still vibrant and inviting. One thing to look out for is the local Pachino tomato. It has protected status and can be found fresh, dried, or reduced to a gloriously intense thick paste called strattu, dried in the sun, which adds fantastic deep flavors to soups and pasta sauces. Intertwined within the stalls are several local bars where you can rest and take in the hustle and bustle of local Italian food culture. The market is open every day except for Sunday, from 7 am to 1:45 pm.

Beginning behind the Fontana Amenano at the corner of Piazza Duomo and spreading westward between Via Garibaldi and Via Transito, this is one of Italy's most memorable markets. It's a feast for the senses, with ricotta, fresh produce, endless varieties of meats, thousands of just-caught fish (some still wriggling), plus a symphony of vendor shouts to fill the ears. The market is at its best in early morning and finishes up around 1 pm. It's open every day except Sunday.

A particularly delicious version of buccellato—the sweet, anise-flavored bread with raisins that is a Luccan specialty—is baked at Pasticceria Taddeucci.

Patrizia Pepe first emerged on the scene in Florence in 1993 with an aesthetic that's both minimalist and bold. Jackets with oversize lapels, playful pleats, mesmerizing mesh, and the occasional feathered poof set the designs apart. Spending time in the shop of this relative newcomer to the Italian fashion scene gives you the opportunity to pick up an item or two before the brand becomes the next fast-tracked craze.

This shop has been selling both Italian and non-Italian food since 1860. If you're tired of mozzarella and feel the need for some cheddar, this is the place to find it.

Looking for some cheddar cheese to pile in your panino? Pegna has been selling both Italian and non-Italian food since 1860.

Renaissance goldsmiths provide the inspiration for this dazzling jewelry with a contemporary feel.

It's possible to break the bank at what might be the best salumeria in Florence. Perini sells prosciutto, mixed meats, sauces for pasta, and a wide assortment of antipasti (starters).

The most famous of all Turin chocolates is the wedge-shape gianduiotto, flavored with hazelnuts and first concocted in 1867. The tradition has been continued at this family-run shop, where more than 80 types of chocolates and other sweets are made.

This outfit has been making exclusive stationery since 1774. The first Rome shop opened at the request of the royal household, and this is where the city's aristocratic families still come for engraved wedding invitations and timeless visiting cards. It also sells desk accessories, wallets, and briefcases made using the best Florentine leather. 

Although it has shops throughout the world, Pineider started out in Florence in 1774 and still does all its printing here. Stationery and business cards are the mainstay, but the stores also sell fine-leather desk accessories as well as a less stuffy, more lighthearted line of products.

This oleoteca is the place to taste and shop for the costiera's finest extra virgin olive oil as well as quality oro verde from other regions. You'll also find delicacies from all over Italy, including intriguing lemon products—candies, candles, soaps, and even lemon honey.

Sculptural works of chocolate, as well as basic bonbons and simpler sweets, have been crafted here since 1909.

Leatherworkers ply their trade at Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School), a consortium in the former dormitory of the convent of Santa Croce. High-quality, fairly priced jackets, belts, and purses are sold here.

Fine-quality marquetry and inlaid wood, coral, and cameos have been crafted and sold here since 1890.

In business since 1836, this famed shop sells confectionery of all kinds—not just the chocolates in the lavish window displays but also fancy cookies, rum-laced fudges, and magnificent cakes.

If you want to visit a working farm, Tenuta Vannulo is a good bet. It produces award-winning cheeses, yogurts, and ice cream and has a pen of buffaloes. Arrive early to sample the farm's sublime buffalo mozzarella—it's often sold out by midday!

Founded in the 1920s, Tod's has grown from a small family brand into a global powerhouse so wealthy that its owner Diego Della Valle donated €20 million to the Colosseum restoration project. The shoe baron is best known for his simple, classic, understated designs done in butter-soft leather, but his light, flexible Gommini line of driving shoes, with rubber-bottomed soles for extra driving-pedal grip, are popular as well. There is also a location on Via Condotti.

A Roman institution for 50 years, Volpetti sells excellent cured meats and salami from its buzzing deli counter. The rich aromas and flavors are captivating from the moment you enter the store. The food selection also includes genuine buffalo-milk mozzarella, fresh pasta, Roman pecorino, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and fresh bread. It's also a great place for assembling gift baskets, and it offers worldwide shipping.

You'll find an extensive line of Florentine papers and paper products in this shop, where artisans also rebind and restore books and works on paper. Opening hours are tricky, so it's best to call before stopping by.

Bursting at the seams with not an inch of space left on its shelves, this tiny little bookshop is a favorite meeting point for English speakers in Trastevere. Irish owner Dermot O'Connell goes out of his way to find what you're looking for, and if he doesn't have it in stock he'll make a special order for you. The shop carries everything from popular best sellers to translated Italian classics, as well as lots of good books about Rome.

With more than 40,000 books in English and shelves that are stuffed from floor-to-ceiling with both British and American editions, this large, friendly shop has been a mecca for English-language reading material in Rome for more than 60 years. The bilingual staff always goes the extra mile to find what you need, whether you're a study-abroad student looking for an art history or archaeology textbook or you're a visitor searching for a light read for the train.

Step inside this beloved deli for some of the freshest ricotta in town, as well as ham and salami, burrata cheese from Puglia, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Sicilian anchovies, and local wines—all served with polite joviality. Although not everything can be imported to the United States, some of the savory delights can be vacuum-sealed in case you want to pack some Italian specialties in your suitcase.

Rome's oldest pharmacy, in business since 1552, produces its own line of skincare products and dietary supplements. The shop's herbs and 18th-century furnishings evoke a store in Harry Potter's Diagon Alley, and although you won't find any potions, the pharmacists can whip up just-for-you powders, syrups, capsules, gels, or creams to soothe modern ailments.

Dr. Vranjes elevates aromatherapy to an art form with scents for the body and home.

Come here for colorful local fashions at reasonable prices; there's also a location closer to the beach, on Via del Brigantino.