Doing the Grocery Shopping in Italy

Not everyone who visits Italy is a foodie, but most people planning a trip hope to eat well while they’re there. Rent an apartment or stay longer than a week and you’ll end up doing what Italians do every few days: the grocery shopping. It’s one of the best cheap windows into daily life in the country, and it comes with a few rules nobody tells you about.

It’s easy for visitors, wallets fat with holiday money, to wax poetic about the rustic outdoor markets we walk past and photograph. I was one of those people. My husband and I romanticized shopping the old way, going to the butcher for meat, the baker for bread and the greengrocer for vegetables, and I suspected that if we ever lived in Italy we’d end up at the supermarket as often as everyone else. That’s what most Italians do now. The small shops are still there, fewer every year, and what they have over the big stores is the same as it always was: quality, and someone who can tell you what’s good today.

Where Italians shop

• Supermarkets (supermercati). Conad is the largest chain, with more than 4,500 stores under several names, including the small Tuday Conad shops. Esselunga is the one northern Italians get loyal about, with most of its stores in Lombardy and the rest across the north and center as far as Lazio. Coop, Carrefour, Pam and Despar are everywhere too.
• Discount stores. Lidl, Eurospin and MD sell the basics for less. The fresh produce is fine, and the olive oil and pasta are better than what you’d get for the same money at home.
• Alimentari. The small neighborhood grocery, often with a deli counter. Good for a sandwich made to order, a few slices of prosciutto and a bottle of wine for the apartment.
• Specialist shops. The forno or panificio (bakery), macelleria (butcher), pescheria (fishmonger), fruttivendolo (greengrocer) and salumeria (cured meats and cheese).
• Markets. Most towns have a weekly street market and the big cities have daily covered markets. Our guide to Italian food markets covers the etiquette, vocabulary and market days.

If you’re in an apartment for a week, here’s how I’d split it: supermarket for the staples, a forno for bread, and the market or the greengrocer for fruit and vegetables, which is where the quality gap is widest.

What to expect in an Italian supermarket

• Carts need a coin. Most trolleys are chained together and unlock with a 1 euro coin (or a token), which you get back when you return it. Keep a coin handy or grab a basket.
• Wear the gloves. In the produce section you’ll find a roll of thin plastic gloves next to the bags. Put one on before you touch the fruit and vegetables. Picking up a peach with your bare hand gets you looks, and sometimes a lecture.
• Weigh it yourself. In most supermarkets you bag your produce, put it on the scale, press the button with the item’s number or picture (shown on the price sign) and stick the printed label on the bag. Turn up at the till with an unweighed bag of tomatoes and the cashier will send you back.
• Produce bags cost money. Since 2018 the thin bags for fruit and vegetables have had to be compostable, and the store charges a few cents for each one.
• Bring your own shopping bag. Checkout bags cost extra too, and you pack them yourself, fast. The cashier will start on the next customer while you’re still loading yours. Put a folding tote in your daypack.
• Take a number at the deli. The meat, cheese and deli counters use a ticket machine. Pull a number and wait. Order by weight: un etto is 100 grams, and due etti of prosciutto is about right for two people’s antipasto.
• Cards are fine. Every shop has to accept card payments, and tapping a contactless card or phone is normal at supermarket tills. Small market stalls and some alimentari still prefer cash, so carry some.
• Check the hours. Big-city supermarkets often stay open late and on Sundays, but small shops in smaller towns still close for a long lunch and on Sunday, and some take a weekday afternoon off. On national holidays and around Ferragosto in mid-August, expect closures.

A few things worth putting in the cart

The supermarket is a cheap place to try things you’ll pay far more for at home. Look for a wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano, bronze-cut dried pasta from a small producer, a jar of pesto from the refrigerated case, local wine in the 5 to 10 euro range (often better than restaurant house wine), and whatever cheese the region is known for. The pasta aisle alone is worth a visit.

If you’re moving to Italy for good, shopping at the small local shops is still the best way to become a regular in your neighborhood. The butcher who knows your name will save you the good cuts.