Shopping in Italy

The opening hours of shops in Italy may take some time to adjust to. Generally they:

• open at 8.30 or 9 in the morning
• close at 12.30 or 1 for lunch
• re-open at 4.30 or 5 in the afternoon
• close at 7.30 or 8 in the evening.

These are the standard opening hours from Monday to Saturday inclusive, all shops being closed on Sunday, except for fresh pasta shops which open on Sunday morning. While this is quite straightforward, figuring out the early closing days is more difficult. Generally speaking all shops that sell food close on a Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, although in some regions it is Tuesday. Hardware stores and shops selling appliances or machinery usually close on Saturday afternoons. Butchers often close for two afternoons in a week, usually on a Tuesday and Thursday.

This should logically leave Monday as an ideal time to find all the shops open. However, Monday is frequently the closing day for places such as hairdressers, photographers, clothes boutiques and pasta shops. In the summer everybody takes a three week holiday some time between June and October, the favourite month being August. You will find chiuso per ferie written on the shop doors, with the date on which it will reopen. In tourist resorts the opposite applies. Shops stay open at all hours and on all days of the week, even on national holidays, particularly if they occur during a peak tourist season.

Unlike Britain, the town centres in Italy are not dominated by faceless shopping precincts and chain stores. Supermarkets are commonplace, but they are often quite small and do not have a meat department. Most supermarkets are franchises, such as Sidis, Cral and Conad, and stock a mixture of their own and other brands as well as local produce. Small grocery stores, alimentari, and butchers, macellerie, also sell local fare and generally take pride in the quality of their products. Bakers usually bake on the premises, producing a variety of breads and rolls as well as biscuits and cakes. Patisserie and cream cakes tend to be sold in cafes. All towns also have at least one fresh pasta shop where numerous varieties of pasta are made daily.

You will be given a receipt, ricevuta fisscale, with all purchases, which you should keep until reaching home. The guardia di finanza, a branch of the police, have the right to demand to see receipts for any goods you have on you or in your vehicle, and in the unlikely event of this happening and your not having the receipt both you and the seller can be lumbered with a fine.