Food, Drink shopping in Italy
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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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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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Antonio Mattei
Practically every tourist shop in Florence sells them; they are dunked in Vin Santo as sweet dolci world-wide and have become synonymous with Tuscany at large. Yet it is in Prato that these rock-hard, seriously crunchy rusk-like biscuits studded with almonds were cooked up. Known around the world, sure, but the Real McCoy only comes in a thick paper, cobalt-blue bag, tied with string and embossed with the mark of its maker: Antonio Mattei. Created by the artisan biscuit maker in 1858, biscotti di Prato or cantucci (as they are also known) are still baked up on the very spot where they were born.
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Nave De Oro
Wine is as important to life for Venetians as water and a fine take-home tradition persists in Venice for tipplers unable or unwilling to spend on big labels. These wine-stores are crammed with huge glass damigiane (demijohns). From these monsters, each containing a sea of modest Veneto table wine, you make a choice and have it poured into whatever you bring - used wine or mineral-water bottles, it's up to you. You will be charged per litre. There are many branches of this chain around.
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Eataly
Adjacent to the congress centre is the Slow Food Movement’s ‘supermarket’, Eataly. This vast converted factory now houses a staggering array of Slow Food–affiliated food and beverages, with a separate area for each, including cheeses, breads, meats, fish, pasta, chocolate and much more. The best time to visit is around 12.30pm to 2.30pm, when each area has its own little restaurant serving lunch. There’s also a high-end restaurant here, for which you’ll need to book ahead.
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Cantina del Canton
Wine is as important to life for Venetians as water and a fine take-home tradition persists in Venice for tipplers unable or unwilling to spend on big labels. These wine-stores are crammed with huge glass damigiane (demijohns). From these monsters, each containing a sea of modest Veneto table wine, you make a choice and have it poured into whatever you bring - used wine or mineral-water bottles, it's up to you. You will be charged, on average, around €2 per litre.
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Augusta Perusia Cioccolato e Gelateria
Giordano worked for Perugina for 25 years. In 2000, he opened his own shop, Augusta Perusia Cioccolato e Gelateria, creating delectables from the old tradition, including baci (hazelnut ‘kisses’ covered in chocolate) from the original Perugian recipe. Delicious handmade chocolate bars come in boxes with old paintings of Perugia – great for gifts – or pick up some of the city’s best gelato for yourself.
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Ischia Sapori
This savvy little produce shop is the home of rucolino, a local, liquorice-flavoured digestive made with rucola (rocket). The recipe is a guarded secret, but the liquid is yours for the taking. The shop also sells its own wines, gourmet food stuffs, limoncello-soaked babà, olive-oil soaps, and fragrances, all reasonably priced and gorgeously packaged with trademark Italian flair.
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Antica Macelleria di Francesco Esposito
For a perfect picnic hamper head to this century-old deli. Drop in from 08:00 for fresh mozzarella and wood-fired casareccio bread. Fill the latter with a lip-smacking choice of cheeses, prosciutti, homemade peperoncino (chilli) salami and marinated peppers. Then wash it all down with a bottle of falanghina (dry white wine). Meraviglioso! (Marvellous!).
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Profumi della Costiera
The limoncello produced and sold here is made with local lemons (known to experts as sfusato amalfitano) according to traditional recipes, so no preservatives and no colouring. And it's not just the owners who say so - all bottles carry the IGP (Indicazione Geografica Proteta; Protected Geographical Indication) quality mark.
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Oreste dal Zovo
OK, you may prefer to shop in the glossy boutiques of Via Mazzini, but we prefer quintessentially Italian, old-school haunts such as this wine shop, operating since 1958. It's crammed full of wines, grappas and assorted liqueurs - you may get a hangover just browsing. Ask the owner, a trained sommelier, to help you make an educated choice.
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Pralines Leonida
Skip the sweet talk and head directly to this inventive artisanal chocolatier, where around €10 gets you a golden gift box of spicy pepperoncino chocolate, or super-smooth Belgian chocolate with nutty, chewy centres. But fair warning: Leonida closes from July to September each year to travel and find inspirations for new delights.
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Interfood
This little enoteca (wine bar) in Santa Lucia stocks mainly Campanian vino, a rising star on the Italian wine scene. Among the better producers, look for Cantina del Taburno or Ocone or D'Ambra for reds, and Falanghina or Coda de Volpe for whites. Good deals include three bottles of reasonable wine for €15.00 or less.
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Enoteca Cotti
This store is the Biblioteca Ambrosiana of Italian wines and spirits, with thousands of bottles displayed in floor-to-ceiling bookcases. You'll pay for the privilege of checking out the rarer vintages, but many of them you won't find elsewhere, and you can try excellent wines by the glass with a light bite in a side tasting room.
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Garbagnati
Every day's a gourmet holiday with Garbagnati's panettone, the Milanese Christmas specialty with the ideal ratio of savoury to sweet, fluffy bread to caramelised raisins. Make the most of a sunny day with picnic-perfect breads and pastries, or toast the good life with wine by the glass and house-made pasta.
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Il Negozio Benedettino della Badia Primaziale di Sant'Anselmo
In the grounds of the abbey of Sant'Anselmo, which flanks Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, this little holy retailer stocks a wide range of products made in abbeys across the world; from German friars' beer and Norcia honey, to Praglia cosmetics and wicked Trappisti chocolate bars.
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Italianloves
Lurking just off the bustling Piazza di Santa Croce, this long gallery of a shop sells a good selection of Tuscan farm products, but above all wine and olive oil. Out the back you can taste both products before making a purchase. The same shop also runs an Internet service.
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Volpetti
Volpetti strides like a colossus among Rome's delis. You'll find everything from smelly cheese to fresh homemade pasta, olive oils, vinegar, salami, veggie pies, wine and grappa. Helpful staff will guide you through your choice and you can also order online.
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Lanzo Caffè
This shop offers a mix of attractively packaged foodstuffs, such as panforte ('strong bread', made of almonds, candied fruit, spices and honey) and various regional products like honey - as well as a wine selection from Tuscany and beyond.
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Su Nuraghe
While in Bosa you'll undoubtedly try the local sweet dessert wine, Malvasia. If you want to take a bottle home you'll find a good selection at Su Nuraghe. It also stocks torrone (nougat), Sardinian sweets, olive oils, cheeses and salami.
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Mercato delle Erbe
A picnickers’ mecca. Dozens of booths line this green metal-and-glass-enclosed bazaar. Freshly baked pastries and bread, locally produced cheese and meat, and everything else you would need for a picnic (including plastic cups) are sold here.
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Bartolini
If you're smitten with Italian food and are packing your bags with Italian cookbooks, save some room for the goodies in here: everything you need for the Italian kitchen, from polenta-stirring spoons to artisan ceramics.
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Limonè
For a gastronomic souvenir, head to Limonè, where you’ll be able to try the organic limoncello (lemon liqueur) before buying a bottle. If it goes to your head, grab some lemon pasta as well.
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La Galleria del Chianti
Despite the name, the shelves of this store are stacked with goodies from all over Tuscany and even a few from other regions, such as Poli Grappa from Bassano del Grappa in the Veneto (if your insides need a clean).
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L’Antico Frantoio
Sandra has been cooking up her own sauces for several decades now. She sells them at this gourmet store, along with cheeses, salami, pasta, lenticchie (lentils) and all sorts of Umbrian goodies.
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