Shopping in Italy
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Santo Spirito Organic Market
This monthly market attracts artisans and organic farmers from around Tuscany, with stands devoted to fresh produce, hand-painted crockery, spices gathered from Chianti hillsides and much more.
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Ibiz – Artigianato in Cuoio
In this pint-sized workshop, Elisa Nepi and her father craft exquisite, well-priced leather goods, including bags, belts and sandals, in simple but classy designs and myriad colours.
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Camuffo
Kids, entomologists and glass collectors troop over the bridge, under the portico and into the second calle (alleyway) on the left to arrive at the city’s finest selection of lampworked glass beetles and dragonflies. With a miniature blowtorch and the patience of a saint, Signor Camuffo adds metallic foils to molten glass to make shimmering wings. Between bugs, he’ll chat about his work and sell you strands of Murano glass beads at excellent prices.
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Gloria Astolfo
Take your fashion cues from Venetian painting masterpieces at this Venetian bead artisan’s showcase. Garlands of beaded tiger lilies make open-necked T-shirts instantly glamorous, and those baroque pearl earrings would gently tickle your shoulders if you started to nod off at La Fenice. Prices starting at €35 are surprisingly down-to-earth for jewellery this original, especially so close to Piazza San Marco.
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Millevini
For the price of a souvenir T-shirt, a top-notch Veneto vintage recommended by well-versed staff could become a highlight of your visit – beyond DOC prosecco, there are Veneto Merlots with gumption, and surprisingly velvety Valpollicellas. This brick wine-cellar is right at the foot of the Rialto bridge, a convenient stop if you want to toast the sunset on your hotel terrace.
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Antica Caciara Trasteverina
The fresh ricotta is a prized possession at this century-old deli, and usually snapped up by lunch. If you're too late, take solace in other creamy specialities such as burrata pugliese (a creamy cheese from the Puglia region), or simply drool over the fragrant hams, bread, baccalà (salted cod), cheeses, peppers, Sicilian anchovies and local wines.
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Il Mirto e la Rosa
Pantelleria has a healthy supply of slips and sandals shops to cater for all those fashion victims. What you should stock up with is the island's own range of cosmetic products.
Il Mirto e la Rosa, just off Via Borgo Italia, stocks the island's own range of cosmetic products, Linea Cosmetica Lago di Venere, made from the mineral-rich mud of the Bagno dell'Aqua.
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Bookàbar
In Firouz Galdo–designed, cool, gleaming white rooms, Bookàbar – the bookshop attached to Palazzo delle Esposizioni – is just made for browsing. There are books on art, architecture and photography, DVDs, CDs, vinyl, children’s books, and gifts for the design-lover in your life.
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Schegge
Go incognito in style, with highly original masquerade masks revealing influences as diverse as Gothic architecture and Modigliani. Well into the night, you’ll find this dedicated mother-daughter team wielding tiny paintbrushes, coaxing minute baroque tendrils into bloom along the side of a Klimt mask.
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Baullà
Baullà sells classic women's clothes and some accessories - all understated, informal chic of exceptional quality. Expect beautiful knitwear, linen jackets, jewel-bright chenille scarves and a selection of original bags and shoes.
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Francesco da Firenze
Jolly Francesco and his crew hammer out fine men’s footwear in the dusty workshop just behind their slightly less dusty shop. He provides ready-to-wear models as well as made-to-measure kicks at surprisingly non-astronomical rates.
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Fabriano
Fabriano makes stationery sexy, with deeply desirable diaries, funky notebooks and products embossed with street maps of Rome. Enlightened extras include quirky paper jewellery by local designers and stylish paper-thin wallets.
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AGAU
Brightly coloured precious and semiprecious stones from India are used by Italian designers to form the dazzling modern jewellery at this reasonably priced shop. There's another branch at Via della Vite 57 (06 693 80 699).
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Angelo di Nepi (Via Cola di Rienzo 267)
Roman designer Nepi adores rich colour, and combines Italian cut and style with rich Indian fabrics: sumptuous reds, shocking pinks, intricate embroidery and heavy silk to make you as pretty as a peacock.
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Pegna
A good selection of Tuscan and regional Italian specialities such as pâté, cheese, coffees, preserves and other stuff too good to be called just groceries can be found in this mini-supermarket.
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Luisella Mariotti
With semiprecious stones, crystals, glass and nickel-free metals, Luisella Mariotti creates spidery, out-of-this-world jewellery. Original pieces at reasonable prices abound in her backstreet shop.
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Eddy Monetti Men's Store
The menswear branch of Eddy Monetti is an elegant den of Burberry blazers, Ralph Lauren shirts and irresistible cashmere sweaters. The vibe is monied and the service suitably snooty.
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Fausto Santini (Via Cavour 106)
For bargains and previous seasons’ designs, check out this Fausto Santini outlet store at Via Cavour 106, near the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
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Mercato di Ballarò
Although it's popular with tourists, many Palermitans shop for their fresh produce and household goods at Mercato di Ballarò.
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Paolo Atti
For foodie buys head to the Quadrilatero, a haven of delis and speciality food shops, including Paolo Atti.
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Officina de’ Tornabuoni
For natural pharmaceuticals and perfumes go to Officina de’ Tornabuoni.
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Market stalls
Market stalls selling everything from fruit, flowers, pots, pans and clothes to useless clutter fill Piazzas Sordello, Broletto and delle Erbe and their surrounding streets on Thursday morning. More than a million pigs a year are reared in the province of Mantua. Try salumi (salt pork), pancetta(salt-cured bacon), prosciutto crudo (salt-cured ham) and risotto with the locally grown vialone nano rice.
Tortelli di zucca (sweet pumpkin-stuffed cushions of square pasta) is the city's most venerable dish, while risotto alla pilota (risotto with minced pork) and luccio (pike) also appear on most menus. Mantua is also renowned for its sweet specialities, including torta di tagli…
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