A Supermarket in the Historical Center! and other Rome, Italy Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: Supermercato "Di Meglio"

It's not easy to find a full line supermarket/grocery store in Rome, but there is one. Supermercato "Di Meglio." It has everything including cleaning supplies, pasta, canned goods, wine, fresh meat, etc. It's open from 9 am to 10 pm, Sundays, too.

The place doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's huge! Much larger than it appears.

What To Buy: Anything. Everything.

What To Pay: Not cheap, but full-line supermarket/grocery stores are hard to come by in Rome.

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Theme: Food and Drink
Address: Via Giustiniani 18B
Directions: On Via Giustiniani, between Piazza della Rotonda (the piazza in front of the Pantheon) and Via della Dogana Vecchia. With your back to the Pantheon, walk to the far left corner of the piazza and turn left down Via Giustiniani.

Name of Shop: Il Giardino di Domenico Persiani

This lovely and charming shop offers artisan quality terracotta and ceramics, much of it perfect for your garden, as you see in the photo.

What To Buy: Busts, masks, vases and other art objects, most of them copies of typical ancient Roman art objects.

What To Pay: You can spend anywhere from 10 euros up to hundreds on the largest items. I bought several items and paid in cash and was able to bargain for a discount of about 15%.

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Theme: Local Craft
Phone: 06-488-3886
Address: Via Torino, 92
Directions: Not far from Piazza della Reppublica (between via Nazionale and Via Venti (XX)Settembre)
Website: www.anticamanifatturaroma.com

Name of Shop: Vertecchi

Great selection of paper, portfolios, pens, art supplies, cards, wrapping paper, boxes, mailing tubes, decorative paper plates and napkins, and briefcases. Come November, they also have the most magnificant Christmas decorations shop you've ever seen! Walk through the store, toward the back right corner, then out the door, across the alley, into the next building. And "Buon Natale" to us all!

What To Buy: Mailing tubes for that huge poster you bought on the street, Italian birthday cards, italian Christmas cards, lovely wrapping paper, and Christmas decorations starting in early November.

What To Pay: Reasonable prices for Rome and the quality offered.

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Theme: Stationery
Phone: 06-679-0155
Address: Via delle Croce, 70, near the Spanish Steps
Directions: From the Piazza di Spagna, turn onto Via delle Croce, walk towards Via del Corso. The shop will be on your right.
Website: http://www.vertecchi.com

Name of Shop: La Rinascente

Ooops, you left your Clinique makeup bag at home. Maybe they lost your luggage and you need one of everything, including underwear. Maybe it's winter and you've lost your hat, scarf, or gloves. Maybe you just want to check out some prices before you buy that scarf from the street vendor.

La Rinascente can help. It's the only department store in the historical center. And its open almost all the time.

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday 10:30 to 8 p.m.

If you don't find what you want there, walk across the street to the new Galleria Colonna with dozens of shops.

What To Buy: Women and men's clothing, underwear, perfume, makeup, purses and wallets, typical department store things.

What To Pay: Moderate department store prices - not cheap, but not terribly expensive either.

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Theme: Department Store
Phone: 06-679-7691
Address: Piazza Colonna on Via del Corso
Directions: On Via del Corso, halfway between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Venezia
Website: http://www.rinascente.it/eng/index.aspx

Name of Shop: Altroquando

Interesting shop to poke around in - photographs, guides, postcards, magazines, and art books (mostly in Italian) but because they are devoted to film, they are mostly filled with photographs. Also, some nice cinema posters/playbills.

What To Buy: Italian version posters of American movies. - very fun! Jerry Lewis looks even more wacky with Italian captions!

What To Pay: From a few euros on up.

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Theme: Books
Phone: 06-687-9825
Address: Via del Governo Vecchio, 80
Directions: Not far from south-western corner of Piazza Navona, just up the street from the sculpture known as "Pasquino"
Website: www.altroquando.com
Other Contact: Email: comunica@altroquando.com

Name of Shop: Lamborghini Shop

Oooops! The recession has many victims. Including this shop. It's gone! Sorry! But I'll leave the tip here in case it returns.

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Well, maybe just a test drive?

Is this the ultimate in window-shopping or what? Yellow never looked so good on a car.

The Lamborghini shop in Rome is appropriately found on the fabled Via Veneto. Stop in on your way from Piazza Barberini to the Capuchin Crypt, which is just 50 meters down the road toward the Villa Borghese.

The 2006 Lamborghini Murcielago is priced very reasonably at US $279,900 or 223,880 Euros. But if you're watching your centisimi (pennies), maybe you'd prefer the Gallardo. starting at $175,000?

What To Buy: The Murcielago (also available as a convertible) or Gallardo

What To Pay: The equivalent of the Gross National Product of a small third world country

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Theme: Other
Address: Via Veneto, 6
Directions: Just a few meters from Piazza Barberini
Website: http://www.lamborghini.it/