Shopping

Shopping in Italy: where to go, and what to bring home

Italy is about more than fashion. The luxury brands are in Milan, Rome and Florence, but the best souvenirs are often handmade: Florentine leather, Murano glass, Vietri ceramics and made-to-measure sandals from Capri.

Good to know

• Tax-free shopping is for you. If you live outside the EU, you can get part of the Italian sales tax (VAT, called IVA) back. Spend more than €70 in one store on the same day, show your passport at checkout and ask for a tax-free form. Get it validated at customs when you leave the EU, before you check your bags. The refund company keeps a fee, so you get back less than the full tax
• Don’t use it before you leave. Customs can ask to see the goods, so keep them unused and easy to reach
• Sales start in early January and early July, with big discounts in the fashion stores
• Markets are a morning thing, and many small shops close at midday and on Sundays
• Food souvenirs and customs back home: meat products such as salami and prosciutto are generally not allowed into the US or Canada, so skip them as souvenirs. Hard cheeses, olive oil and wine are usually fine within limits. Declare all food, and check the current rules from US Customs (CBP) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) before you pack

Where to shop, place by place

Northern Italy

Franciacorta Village outlet, in Rodengo Saiano near Brescia: an open-air outlet with over 160 brands and discounts of typically 30 to 70 percent. Usually open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. Weekends are busy, so a weekday is best. Combine it with a winery in the Franciacorta wine region. Near Sirmione, Peschiera del Garda, Garda, Malcesine and Riva del Garda.

Milan: the Quadrilatero della Moda, Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, with the world’s fashion houses within a few blocks. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II next to the Duomo is worth seeing even if you buy nothing. Corso Buenos Aires is one of Europe’s longest shopping streets, for everyday brands.

Venice: buy Murano glass straight from the workshops on the island of Murano, and watch out for cheap imports. Real Burano lace is rare and expensive. The Rialto market next to the bridge sells fish and produce in the mornings.

Verona: Via Mazzini, the marble street from Piazza Bra to Piazza delle Erbe, is the main shopping street, and Piazza delle Erbe has market stalls in the middle of the old town.

Bologna: the Quadrilatero food lanes in the old town, for mortadella, Parmigiano and fresh pasta. Via dell’Indipendenza is the long covered shopping street from the station to the center.

Cinque Terre: pesto and limoncino in the village shops, and Sciacchetrà, the area’s rare sweet wine. Pricey, but one of a kind.

Rimini: nearby San Marino, a tiny country of its own, is a popular shopping trip. In summer, the seafront shops sell beachwear and souvenirs.

Central Italy

Rome: Via Condotti by the Spanish Steps for the luxury brands, and Via del Corso between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Venezia for everyday ones. The Campo de’ Fiori market has fruit, spices and souvenirs in the mornings.

Florence: the goldsmiths on Ponte Vecchio, who have been on the bridge for centuries. The San Lorenzo leather market and the Mercato Centrale food hall are on the same block, for leather bags and jackets, and haggling is part of the game. Via de’ Tornabuoni has Florence’s luxury brands.

Chianti: the best souvenirs are bought straight from the winery after a tasting, and many estates ship abroad. Fresh olive oil after the fall harvest is the other great buy.

Southern Italy

Vietri sul Mare ceramics, at the eastern end of the coast: colorful dishes and tiles. Near Salerno and the Amalfi Coast.

Naples: Via Toledo is the main shopping street, and Via Chiaia has smarter shops and tailors. On San Gregorio Armeno, handmade nativity figures are sold all year round.

Amalfi Coast: Amalfi’s handmade paper, a tradition with its own museum in town, and linen and beachwear in the little boutiques of Positano.

Sorrento: limoncello from local lemons, with tastings at the makers, and intarsia, Sorrento’s traditional inlaid wooden boxes.

Capri: handmade sandals are the island’s best-known souvenir, and workshops still make them to measure in both Anacapri and the town of Capri. In 2019 we met the sandal maker Antonio Viva in his Anacapri workshop, where he had worked since 1958. You picked the sole and the straps, and the sandal was put together around your foot in a few minutes. Antonio passed away in 2023, and his workshop has since closed. Via Camerelle near the Piazzetta is the luxury lane.

Bari: Via Sparano is the main shopping street, and in the old town, women make orecchiette by hand right on the street. You can buy the dried pasta to take home.

Polignano a Mare and Monopoli: Puglian olive oil, taralli, the crunchy savory rings eaten with wine, and local ceramics in the small shops of the old towns.

Sicily

Palermo: the Ballarò and Capo markets are food stop and souvenir shop at once: spices, sun-dried tomatoes and pistachios. Via della Libertà and Via Ruggero Settimo are the shopping streets.

Trapani: sea salt from the salt pans is a great, light souvenir, and coral jewelry is an old local craft.

Ragusa: Modica chocolate, the famous grainy chocolate from the next town, is sold in Ragusa too.

Taormina: Corso Umberto runs through the whole town, with jewelry, ceramics and fashion. In Cefalù, Corso Ruggero has ceramics and Sicilian treats.

Sardinia

Olbia: Corso Umberto is the main street, and the luxury boutiques of Porto Cervo on the Costa Smeralda are about half an hour away.

Cagliari: Via Garibaldi for shopping, and the big covered San Benedetto market for food.