5 Best Shopping in Sicily, Italy

This historic food market is still the daily shopping center for residents of Ortigia and mainland Siracusa. Seafood stalls display the catch of the day, ranging from local clams that you'll find in most restaurants to sea urchins that normally only appear on the more expensive menus. Even in the colder months, the vegetable and fruit stalls are still vibrant and inviting. One thing to look out for is the local Pachino tomato. It has protected status and can be found fresh, dried, or reduced to a gloriously intense thick paste called strattu, dried in the sun, which adds fantastic deep flavors to soups and pasta sauces. Intertwined within the stalls are several local bars where you can rest and take in the hustle and bustle of local Italian food culture. The market is open every day except for Sunday, from 7 am to 1:45 pm.

Beginning behind the Fontana Amenano at the corner of Piazza Duomo and spreading westward between Via Garibaldi and Via Transito, this is one of Italy's most memorable markets. It's a feast for the senses, with ricotta, fresh produce, endless varieties of meats, thousands of just-caught fish (some still wriggling), plus a symphony of vendor shouts to fill the ears. The market is at its best in early morning and finishes up around 1 pm. It's open every day except Sunday.

Wind your way through the Albergheria district and this historic market, where the Saracens did their shopping in the 11th century—joined by the Normans in the 12th. The market's name is said to come from nearby Monreale, named Bahlara when Arab traders resided there, and it remains faithful to their original commerce of fruit, vegetables, and grain. These days the stalls are dotted with bars and outdoor restaurants where you can sample the produce, but the market has lost none of its authenticity—just keep a close eye on your belongings in the crowd. And go early: the action dies out by 4 pm most days.

A ghost of its former self, Vucciria—whose name translates to "voices" or "hubbub"—was once the most vibrant market in Palermo, memorably captured in Renato Guttuso's canvas of the same name (now exhibited in Palazzo Steri). It is now reduced to barely more than a single street and piazza. It takes on more of a street food atmosphere at night, when no-name bars open to sell cheap cocktails to the crowds gathering around the smoking grills that are wheeled outside after dark.