The best specialty grocery stores Italy

Frue is a grocery store specialized in exclusive gastronomic products located in a pedestrian and shopping street. For the lunch break, you can enjoy sandwiches, salads and traditional products. Of course, the emphasis is on small producers and for a delicatessen in the capital, the prices are controlled. "Frue" in Sardinian is the soul of cheese. Originally a cheese shop, this store has, over time, expanded its offer with unique products: carasau bread from Ovedda, pecorino from Osilo, olio di oliva from Dolianova... To discover!

A pretty shop, popular with tourists and locals alike, which offers all the best local products of Ischia. Its star product is rucolino, a liqueur made from rocket. You can also buy other liqueurs such as limoncello and nocino (made from walnuts), brandies (grappa, gin), food products (sauces for bruschette, nougats and biscuits flavoured with orange or local wine), perfume and soap. In short, you will find everything you need and bring back a small souvenir typical of the island.

Not to be missed for lovers of fresh pasta. A very small place as we like them, located in the passage between Piazza delle Vettovaglie and Via Domenico Cavalca. Genuine handmade pasta, ready to eat or to cook at home, different shapes and flavors, sauces, creams... Authenticity, but also creativity! The curious strawberry ravioli, for example, are a must-try for the most intrepid.

Since 1913, Callipo has been the specialist in quality canned tuna. At that time, the company worked exclusively with Mediterranean bluefin tuna, caught off the coast of Pizzo. Callipo was even one of the patented suppliers to the Court at the time of Victor Emmanuel III. Nowadays, the tuna is fished mostly in the ocean with a sustainable approach, and its meat is always the object of the greatest care. The beautiful preserves are on sale in the store, as well as products from the Pizzo farm (citrus jams, liqueurs...).

The shop is entirely dedicated to the brand created in Benevento in 1860 by the Alberti family. Strega means "witch" in Italian and recalls an ancient legend that made Benevento a gathering place for the witches' Sabbath. The Strega liqueur is obtained by distilling seventy herbs and spices from all over the world, including saffron, and Alberti desserts. Their speciality: nougat, with almonds, lemon or chocolate, but also cakes such as panettone and filled chocolates.

Carnaroli, arborio, baldo... If these names don't ring a bell, it's because you're not yet familiar with rice from Vercelli, Novara and the surrounding area. But don't panic: in this designer store (the only one in town dedicated to this crop, with top-quality, 100% Italian rice), the "rice sommeliers" will explain it all to you! Of course, you'll be able to walk away with the ideal rice for your risotti, as well as rare, red and black rices... and many other gourmet products.

Venetian flavors as a souvenir, that's what the "three merchants" who created this delicatessen offer you. The store's décor and top-of-the-range gourmet products are a journey of taste and art. The store's great specialty? the tiramisù, available in a range of flavors and made right before your eyes by a team of expert pastry chefs. You'll also find macaroons, a range of pasta sauces and the finest Veneto charcuterie. In short, the temple of gourmets.

In an alley behind the arcades of La Marina, don't miss this shop. It sells high quality and fine handcrafted products. Everything is sourced 100% Sardinian, from sheep's or goat's milk to the meat used for salting. This is the place to come to buy genuine Sardinian pecorino, which is offered at different stages of maturation. The cured meats, perfectly seasoned and dried, look good. Wines, pasta, preserves, sweets and cakes, you can't fail to find what you are looking for.