32 Best Places to Shop in Tuscany, Italy

Stop by this shop for top-quality local food products, including farro, dried porcini mushrooms, olive oil, and wine.

This just might be the world's most dramatic butcher shop. Here, amid classical music and lively conversation, owner Dario Cecchini holds court: while quoting Dante, he serves samples of his very fine sushi di Chianina (raw slices of Chianina beef gently salted and peppered). He has researched recipes from the 15th century, and sells pâtés and herb concoctions found nowhere else. Serious food enthusiasts should not miss the place.

If you love sweets then you'll be pleased with the selection of artisanal chocolates, marzipan delights, and gorgeous cakes. Creations become even more fanciful during Christmas and Easter.

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.

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

A large loom dominates this tiny workshop and showroom where scarves, shawls, throws, and jackets are woven. Anna Maria's work, mostly in mohair, is done in lively hues.

There has been a salumeria (delicatessen) here since 1889. The cheeses, cured meats, and made-to-order panini are top-notch.

Since 1987, Signora Dominga Bruno has been at the helm of this antiques store on Arezzo's fashionable Corso Italia. Head here for fine furnishings, unusual sculptures, and other objets d'art.

On the third weekend of the month, an antiques market happens in and around Piazza San Martino. Vendors unveil their wares around 8:30, and start packing up around dusk. There's something for everyone, including old-fashioned glassware, ancient coins, and furniture—some items are antique, some are just old.

Down the road from the Museo della Ceramica, this shop produces objects in a range of styles.

Just behind the church of San Giusto (off Via Beccheria, which runs for about two blocks between Piazza Napoleone and Piazza San Michele) are bookstalls that open their cupboard doors on clement days (including Sunday), from about 10 am to 7 pm. You may discover anything from hand-tinted prints of orchids to back issues of Uomo Ragno (Spider-Man looks and acts just the same even when he's speaking Italian).

If you've always wanted a 14th- or 15th-century painting to hang on your wall, but the cost of acquiring one is prohibitive, consider purchasing one of the superb copies at this shop made by Chiara or her brother, Michelangelo Casoni. Their work in tempera and gold leaf is of the highest quality.

Run by the same family for three generations, this ceramics-making compound is 3 km (2 miles) from Montelupo on the road heading east toward Florence. Here you'll find a sun-drenched spazio aziendale (selling floor), a factory workshop, the family residence, and a yard where terra-cotta planters are displayed. The ceramics, all priced reasonably given the high-quality handcrafted work, include large vases, plates suitable for hanging, and brightly colored serving pieces for the table.

In two large showrooms housed in medieval buildings, you can shop for alabaster objects, including bookends, ashtrays, and boxes.

This workshop with stores all over Tuscany is known for its leather bags, wallets, and other accessories.

For nice ceramics, with many pieces depicting the brilliant sunflowers that blanket local fields, check here.

Mario Cappelletti carries interesting prints and reproductions of well-known Renaissance artworks, as well as contemporary paintings of the Tuscan countryside.

Bruno De Miccoli stocks an impressive array of verdure sott'olio, local wines, and dried herbs in his food-and-wine bar.

On Castellina's main street, Aleandro and Gilles stock an ample and well-chosen supply of local wines produced by small estates. On request, they can also organize visits to nearby wineries.

You'll find a delightful selection of delicately hand-painted ceramics in Lucia's studio and shop near the center of Castellina.

Since 1974, this super-chic fashion boutique has been celebrating French, Japanese, and Italian designers.

As everywhere else, the town brightens on mercato (open-air market) mornings, every Thursday and Saturday, in Piazza del Duomo. It's the place to pick up fresh fruits and other snacks.

Volterra's market is held on Saturday morning from November to April in Piazza dei Priori and from May through October in Vallebuona, near Teatro Romano. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, vendors sell everything from corkscrews to intimi (underwear).

For a broad selection of scrumptious pastries, visit this favorite haunt of Lucca's senior citizens, who frequently stop in after Sunday Mass.

At Rossi Alabaster, which has been around since 1912, you can watch artisans create household items in alabaster and then buy their wares.

Siena has been famous for centuries for its fine embroidery work, and Bruna Brizza continues the tradition in her tiny shop. Hand stitching, usually on simple white and cream-color linen, adorns lamp shades, tablecloths, and other housewares.

This kiln and painting studio, 5 km (3 miles) south of Radda in Chianti, produces exquisite (and expensive) hand-painted ceramic objects, including plates, bowls, and candlesticks. The firm ships anywhere in the world and keeps its customers' information on file. If you break a plate or want to buy more, they'll know exactly what your pattern is.