Shopping on Sicily

Sicily, like the other parts of Italy, is a wonderful place for shopping. The list of things which are worth buying on Sicily is great, among them clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, sweets, wine, olive oil and ceramics. All of them are of high quality. Shopping on Sicily is a real entertaining process and you can enjoy every minute of it. But it is better to know where, what and how to buy.

There are some shopping places on Sicily. The first is at the street markets. They are practically in all Sicilian towns and cities. Most of them are open for one or some days a week. Such cities as Palermo, Catania have got street markets which are open for the whole week. In Palermo everybody knows Vucceria and Mercato Lo Capo markets. In Catania the most famous is the fishing market in Pesheria. Fairs, organized on Sundays in Cefalu, Sciacca, Giardini Naxos, Caltagirone and Castellamare del Golfo are known all over the world.

There is a great variety of fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat, delicatessen and sea foodstuff at the street markets of Sicily. You can buy also different cheap things made in China, the average price of each thing is about 2-3€. There is a chance to buy there handmade bags, sandals and different souvenirs for children.

But still the best shopping is in the big cities of Sicily. In Palermo, for example, there are nice shopping centers in the districts of Teatro Massimo, Via Roma and Piazza del Duomo. There are some shopping centers in Catania. The most popular is Corso Italia, where you can find clothes made by famous Italian designers and designers from some other countries. There are a lot of shops where you can buy different kinds of fashionable clothes and shoes which are sometimes two times cheaper than in the central shops of Catania. They are situated in the industrial zone of Catania, known as Misterbianco.

If you are interested in the things made of ceramics, the best place to buy such things on Sicily is Caltagirone. The tradition of making ceramic things has been known here for some centuries. You will see sellers, who offer ceramic goods at the street markets at the entrance of the town.

A lot of tourists would like to buy olive oil on Sicily, because it is famous as very tasty oil of high quality. If you want to buy real Sicilian olive oil it is better to buy it in specialized wine shops, called enotecas, because the high quality of the oil there is guaranteed. It is better to buy oil in dark bottles because they prevent the oil from the sunshine. The average price of Sicilian olive oil of high quality starts from 6-7€. The best olive oil is called artigianali and it is produced at small private farms but the quantity of it is limited.