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Italy shopping
Prices in Italy soared with the introduction of the euro, but a strong artisan tradition means that even if you won't find the cheapest goods there, you will probably find the best. Shopping in the international fashion capitals of Milan, Rome, and Florence can be a near-religious experience. But Prada and Gucci stores in the big cities sell items for about the same as (or more than) everywhere else in the world. The intrepid should lay hold of a map and a car and drive to the outlets (Gucci and Prada among them) outside Florence. They're not easy to find, but for fashionistas, the bargain prices will be worth it. Other areas of Italy have their own specialties. Venice and the island of Murano are both known for handblown glass. Tuscany is a center for marble, carved into elegant sculptures or in great slabs for the portico back home. Lombardy produces wonderful pottery and handmade violins. And from Piedmont you can get elegant handmade gold jewelry.
Founded in 1906, La Parisienne is still the island's best source for Capri pants. You can buy copies of the originals worn by Audrey Hepburn or order your own;...more
see the Capri guideIt doesn't look like much from the outside, but this cramped emporium is a shoe-fetishist's dream. If you know about shoes, you'll know that the selection here...more
see the Milan guideThe four Farella sisters were given a small machine loom by their mother in 1981. After working in a garden shed for a while, they opened this workshop-boutique...more
see the Capri guideInvented almost a century ago by the Canale family, which still runs this business today, Capri's trademark liqueur made with local lemons can be sipped...more
see the Capri guideMilanese textile designer Lisa Corti creates colorful bedspreads, cushions, curtains, and womenswear out of Indian organza, cotton, and velvet. Featured in Saks...more
see the Rome guideThere's a wonderful sense of irony in Livio De Marchi's hyper-realist sculptures. Anyone happening across his shop⁄gallery near the San Samuele vaporetto...more
see the Venice guideIt comes as a bit of a surprise to find this venerable coltellinaio (knifemaker) in the middle of the fashion strip of Via Montenapoleone. But Lorenzi, which...more
see the Milan guideOne of Florence's most interesting one-stop fashion stores, multilevel Luisa, next to the Duomo, is famous for its highly original and ever-changing window...more
see the Florence guideDesigner Francesca Meratti's sleek housewares shop exudes minimalist style from every brushed-aluminium shelf. Her salad servers and sinuous carved...more
see the Venice guideFlorence is a great place to buy gloves, and this tiny shop near the southern end of the Ponte Vecchio is one of the very best. The only glove shop in the city...more
see the Florence guide
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