Shopping in Sicily

If it comes out shopping in Sicily, get ready to enjoy the ride and take home, for you or yours, unforgettable presents. That kind of memories that just look at, smell or taste them to take us immediately to that trip through Italian lands.

What can we buy in Sicily? Many things, some very touristy and others for nothing. In our article today you will discover what are the best memories and best souvenirs that you can bring from this charming and touristic Italian island.

Where to buy in Sicily

First things first: you will find many tourist shops and many souvenirs produced especially for tourists. You can buy them, but if you are one of those who wants something more special or always has in mind the best gift for those who wait for us at home, then you have to move a little more.

Of course, it will depend on how organized you have the trip or if you travel on your own or in a group or on a tour. But, as far as possible, you have to get off the tourist track to find the best. Now, where can we start shopping? Believe it or not, in supermarkets and discount stores.

That's right, despite being a supermarket chain there are many local products and, for example, excellent wines from major producers. There is a good Carrefour in the center of Palermo that sells very good wines and also typical decoration objects. On Lidl, Trapani, the same. Do you like pistachio cream? So the one from Lidl is great and has a good price.

Beyond the supermarkets or major stores you can also take a tour of the food, common and small warehouses where you can buy anything from toilet paper to laundry powder. Beyond this, the truth is that some local artisans place their wares here and not in the bigger stores. I'm talking about sausages, sauces, jams.

Another good place to shop is the market or local market. The one in Syracuse is great, very Sicilian. So much to make purchases of the moment, fish or shellfish, like cheese, nuts and spices. Cheap clothes are also sold. The bazaars, the same.

There are bazaars in all the big cities and some are open every day and others once a week. In the smaller cities the markets are generally organized once or twice a week. To know when you just have to go to the tourist office and ask.

All the wineries are another option or the same, wineries. You can take a vineyard tour and buy the bottles there, which will surely be cheaper than in the wineries. In addition, in the wineries they will teach you better about wines and you will not have to buy because of how beautiful the bottle is. But if you cannot do these walks then try to buy in small, non-tourist shops. Even visit the supermarket, as we said above.

What to buy in Sicily

A good souvenir and also very useful, is to buy one shopping basket, handmade, the famous and beautiful cups. They are decorated with many colors and pompoms, mirrors and so on, and there are many styles. Another possible purchase are the lava stone products.

Remember that in Sicily there are two active volcanoes, Mount Etna which is near the city of Catania and the smaller one in Stromboli. The truth is that many of the streets of Sicily are paved with large volcanic stones and there are some other buildings, too, in which the volcanic stone in the shape of bricks has been used. Thus, there are many products made with this gray stone, from bracelets, decorative bowls, pots ...

Do you like coral? Also available here coral objects: from earrings and necklaces, simple or elaborate, to decorative objects. The color of the coral is a little pink or very red, and if you are looking for the best you will find them in Trapani.

La Caltagirone ceramic is fantastic. Caltagirone is one of the eight villages protected by UNESCO, in Val de Noto. Very baroque and very Sicilian at the same time, and the pottery is fantastic: bowls, glasses, plates, urns, trays ...

You like the puppets? The Sicilian puppet theater is well known, the Opera dei Pupi has been in operation since the XNUMXth century and is wonderful. Both Catania and Palermo have a great and strong tradition in this field. The Catania puppets They are larger than those in Palermo, but in both cities you will find many shops with a very interesting offer. There's a lot handcrafted puppets beautiful and there are many prices.

If you are to wear hats, now that tanning is less and less fashionable, you can buy a typical Coppola hat. If it was always related to the mafia, today the story is different and there are many young people who have chosen to wear this funny hat. grandpa, Grandpa. They were born as hats made by hand in Palermo, of wool tweed, but there are cooler versions, for the summer, made of cotton.

Italy wouldn't be Italy without good pasta, so a very good shopping option is buy dry pasta which is easy to transport and give as gifts. There is a very good brand, Free Terra, which precisely comes from fields that have been liberated from the control of the mafias in favor of the local communities.

In the previous section we talked about buy wine in wineries or smaller wineries. It's worth it, let it be known that Sicily has been making wines since at least 1500 BC so it has had time to perfect itself and offer the best.

There are 23 wine producing areas on the island, but the best known varieties with the Syrah and Marsala. The least known but perhaps that is why a good gift is the Nero d'Avola and Etna Rosso. There are larger producers like Tasca d'Amanita or smaller ones, like COS, which makes natural and organic wines.

And what better companion for a wine than a piece of chocolate? It doesn't matter if you go to Sicily in the middle of summer. There is a particular style of chocolate that does not melt: el Monica style sold in bars. It has Aztec roots, from across the sea, and is made with cocoa beans and sugar, all turned into paste and seasoned or with citrus, or with cinnamon or with coffee. They are wrapped with very thin paper and boy, you have a super gift.

Finally, in Sicily there are also many pastry shops, many things with marzipan, but that take the form of lemons, cherries and pears. It's about the famous Martorana Fruits, true sculptures, so much so that they look like real fruits. And they not only make fruits but also sandwiches that look like the real thing. All wrapped with finesse, like chocolates.

Don't tell me anything, right now you want to go visit Sicily.


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