Shopping (Overview)
Shop hours are typically Italian in that many close for the pranza (1–3 or 4 PM). But in the high season many not only remain open all day, but also on Sunday—the big day for Italian families to visit.There are more than enough shops selling antiques and finely crafted goods around San Marco. Right on the piazza is the jeweler Nardi as well as the most respected lace shop Jesurum, and the more famous glass manufacturers. Through the west arcade you come to the Larga XXII Marzo with antiques at Cassini, fine silk scarves, and the exquisite Fortuny silks of Venetia Studium. Continuing west, the lanes take you past designer boutiques with names like Missoni and Krizia, and art and antique galleries, until you exit in the campo Morosini with the witty display windows and clothing of Fiorella.
On the opposite side of the canal, art galleries cluster around the Guggenheim Museum in Dorsoduro; here, too, are the interesting glass designs of Cenedese (near the Salute Church). Past the Accademia, the contemporary furniture of Scarpa catches your eye. Between Campo San Barnaba and the Frari Church, there are intriguing shops filled with buttons, old door knobs, and brass fittings on Botteghe and Cappeller streets. Also, this is where you should be for Venetian masks. With the revival of Carnevale, artisans once again make the traditional white masks called bauta. You can find harlequin faces and sun gods and moon goddesses all year round; they can be made of leather, gilded wood, and carta pesta, a kind of papier mâché.
The ancient Rialto district, which is still the busiest part of Venice, cannot be seen or experienced except by foot. Start at the 16th-century shop-lined Rialto Bridge spanning the Grand Canal, making sure you stop to survey all the activity below on the waterway. On either side of this landmark are numerous grand palazzos, many new municipal buildings, and, always, crowds of Venetians buying and selling food, leather goods, and other products. This is also where you'll find the colorful daily marketplace early in the morning. Besides its amazing display of fruit and vegetables, this district is the Orchard Street of Venice, with clothing, souvenirs, and accessories of varying quality. Some wonderful bargains await, but beware of knockoffs of trademark names. The Castello Market, on via Garibaldi, is also fine for produce and provisions.