Must-see shopping in Italy

  • Walking streets of Florence old town. View of "Benheart" shop entrance.

    Benheart

    Duomo & Piazza della Signoria

    This flagship store of local superstar Ben, a Florentine-based fashion designer who set up the business with schoolmate Matteo after undergoing a heart…

  • Meat section at deli Peck, Via Spadari 9.

    Peck

    Duomo & San Babila

    Milan's historic deli is a bastion of the city's culinary heritage, with the huge ground floor turning out a colourful cornucopia of fabulous foods. It…

  • Eataly Torino Lingotto

    Turin

    The global Slow Food phenomenon began here in Lingotto. Set in a vast converted factory, the Eataly mothership houses a staggering array of sustainable…

  • Lorenzo Villoresi

    Boboli & San Miniato al Monte

    Artisanal perfumes, bodycare products, scented candles and stones, essential oils and room fragrances crafted by Florentine perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi…

  • Uashmama, shop front

    Uashmama

    Oltrarno

    Modern craftsmanship shines out of this loveable boutique, the pride and joy of the Marconi family, whose washable paper bags – tanned just like leather…

  • Fashion at Corso Como 10 (name as well as address).

    10 Corso Como

    Porta Garibaldi & Isola

    This might be the world's most hyped 'concept shop', but Carla Sozzani's selection of desirable things (Maison Margiela jewellery, Gucci bathers, Yayoi…

  • Aquaflor shop in Florence

    Aquaflor

    Santa Croce

    This elegant Santa Croce perfumery in a vaulted 15th-century palazzo exudes romance and exoticism. Artisanal scents are crafted here with tremendous care…

  • The Eataly shop front

    Eataly

    Porta Garibaldi & Isola

    A cult destination dedicated to Italian gastronomy, this three-level mega-emporium showcases the best locally sourced products, including artisanal gelato…

  • Feelin' Venice gift shop

    Feelin' Venice

    Venice

    Tired of bemoaning the increasing number of tatty souvenir shops, Venetians Mattia and Filippo decided to open a design-led alternative featuring the work…

  • Six Gallery from the street

    Six Gallery

    Milan

    A team of creatives have breathed new life into this formerly abandoned 16th-century monastery. Now an atmospheric design space, it's composed of a bistro…

  • Street Doing Vintage in Florence Charming shop with a curated collection of retro secondhand clothing, shoes & accessories.

    Street Doing

    San Lorenzo & San Marco

    Vintage couture for men and women is what this extraordinary rabbit warren of a boutique – surely the city's largest collection of vintage – is about…

  • Chiarastella Cattana in Venice

    Chiarastella Cattana

    Venice

    Transform any home with these locally woven, strikingly original Venetian linens. Whimsical cushions feature chubby purple rhinoceroses and grumpy scarlet…

  • Atelier Bomba shop in Rome

    Bomba

    Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale

    Opened by designer Cristina Bomba over four decades ago, this gorgeous boutique is now operated by her fashion-designing children Caterina (womenswear)…

  • Fausto Santini sells shoes & bags by Fausto Santini, who is heavily influenced by architectural design.

    Fausto Santini

    Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale

    Rome’s best-known shoe designer, Fausto Santini is famous for his beguilingly simple, architectural shoe designs, realised in boots and shoes made with…

  • Process Collettivo, shop in Venice

    Process Collettivo

    San Polo & Santa Croce

    A nonprofit cooperative runs this little shop, selling goods made by inmates of Venice's prisons as part of a social reintegration program. The toiletries…

  • Tina Sondergaard is a Roman Store offering a selection of custom upmarket Italian-made clothing in a sophisticated space.

    Tina Sondergaard

    Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo

    Sublimely cut and whimsically retro-esque, Tina Sondergaard's handmade creations for women are a hit with the local fashion cognoscenti. Styles change by…

  • NonostanteMarras building exterior.

    NonostanteMarras

    Milan

    Brainchild of Sardinian fashion designer Antonio Marras, this eccentric concept store has an almost cinematic feel. Hidden in an ivy-draped courtyard, the…

  • Paciotti, store interior.

    Paciotti

    Vatican City, Borgo & Prati

    This family-run deli is a fantasyland of Italian edibles. Whole prosciutto hams hang in profusion. Cheeses, olive oil, dried pasta, balsamic vinegar, wine…

  • Spazio Rossana Orlandi courtyard entrance

    Spazio Rossana Orlandi

    Corso Magenta & Sant'Ambrogio

    Installed in a former tie factory not far from Corso Magenta, this iconic interior-design studio is a challenge to find. Once inside, though, it's hard to…

  • ElleElle shop in Venice

    ElleElle

    Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands

    Nason Moretti has been making modernist magic happen in glass since the 1950s, and the third-generation glass designers are in fine form in this showroom…

  • Vittorio Costantini in Venice: Art-glass figurines & sculptures inspired by nature are the focus at this artist-owned workshop.

    Vittorio Costantini

    Venice

    Kids and adults alike are thrilled at the magical, miniature insects, butterflies, shells and birds that Vittorio Costantini fashions out of glass using a…

  • Cesare Toffolo glassblower in Venice

    Cesare Toffolo

    Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands

    Mind-boggling miniatures are the trademarks of this Murano glass-blower, but you’ll also find some dramatic departures: chiselled cobalt-blue vases,…

  • Omega

    Naples

    Despite hiding away on the 3rd floor of a nondescript building, Paris, New York and Tokyo know all about this family-run glove factory, whose clients…

  • Biscottificio Innocenti

    Trastevere & Gianicolo

    For homemade biscuits, bite-sized meringues and fruit tarts large and small, there is no finer address in Rome than this vintage biscottificio with…

  • Via Garibaldi 12

    Genoa

    Even if you're not in the market for designer homewares, it's worth trotting up the noble stairs just to be reminded how splendid a city Genoa can be…

  • C.BIO

    Santa Croce

    Be it bread baked in situ that morning, organic fruit, veg or wine made by a small Tuscan producer, homemade pasta or a white-truffle panino to take away,…

  • Luisa Via Roma

    Duomo & Piazza della Signoria

    The flagship store of this historic store (think: small 1930s boutique selling straw hats) turned luxury online retailer is a must for the fashion-forward…

  • Antonio Mattei

    Northwestern Tuscany

    Rev up your taste buds with a shopping spree at Antonio Mattei, Prato's famed biscottificio where the city's signature biscotti di Prato (twice-baked…

  • Obsequium

    Oltrarno

    Tuscan wines, wine accessories and gourmet foods, including truffles, in one of the city's finest wine shops – on the ground floor of one of Florence's…

  • Del Giudice

    Centro Storico

    Established in Rome in 1959 by Marcello and Rita Del Giudice and now operated by their children and grandchildren, this business produces leather bags,…

  • La Parisienne

    Capri

    First opened in 1906 (yes, that is not a misprint!) and best known for introducing Capri pants in the 1960s – famously worn by Audrey Hepburn, who bought…

  • Giudecca Trentasette

    Syracuse

    Salvatore Davì is passionate about Sicily and all things artisanal, and his petite emporium only stocks idiosyncratic, high-quality goods with Sicilian…

  • Salumeria Roscioli

    Centro Storico

    Rome's most celebrated deli showcases a spectacular smörgåsbord of prize products ranging from cured hams and cheeses to conserves, dried pastas, olive…

  • Gente

    Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale

    This multilabel boutique was the first in Rome to bring all the big-name luxury designers – Italian, French and otherwise – under one roof and its vast…

  • Ortigia

    Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale

    Producing soaps, perfumes, creams, lotions, bathsalts, shampoos and candles made with Sicilian natural ingredients – orange blossom, lime, pomegranate,…

  • Bottega 21

    Naples

    Top-notch Tuscan leather and traditional, handcrafted methods translate into coveted, contemporary leather goods at Bottega 21. Block colours and clean,…

  • Nelson Sicily

    Catania

    Nirvana for gourmands, Nelson is a one-stop shop for all things artisanal and Sicilian. Stock the pantry with everything from single-origin olive oils…

  • Ceramiche Alessi Di Giacomo Alessi

    Central Sicily

    Giacomo Alessi is arguably Caltagirone's most famous ceramicist. Not only has his work been exhibited at La Biennale di Venezia, but he received a…

  • Libreria Linea d'Acqua

    Venice

    This beautiful store selling antiquarian books, first editions, maps, sculptures and engravings is much more than a shop: it's a guardian of Venice’s soul…

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