We all convince ourselves that we go to Rome for the culture and history, but actually we know it’s the shopping that we look forward to.

Rome caters for all budgets – there are high-end designer shops concentrated around the Piazza di Spagna and along the Via del Babuino and Via del Corso – but you will also find well known designer shops tucked into corners of the city as you walk around.

Rome is great for leather goods – shoes, boots, bags, belts, gloves, jackets, coats can be found all over the city, including at Campo Dei Fiori, where there are stalls selling bags and leather goods, as well as hats.

However, if you are planning to treat yourself to a new pair of shoes, boots or a bag – and your budget does not stretch to Alberta Ferretti and Fendi – there are two shops you definitely need to know about – Alberto and Frandi!

 

Luckily they are within a few doors of each other on the Via dei Giubbonari – a short walk from the Area Sacra off the Via Corso Emanuele. The Via dei Giubonnari also leads to the Campo dei Fiori, so you will not be too far away from more shopping at the market, or a return shopping trip along the Via del Corso! But do try the Via dei Giubbonari first – it is a busy little street full of interesting shopping and Alberto and Frandi are just two of the many shopping opportunities there.

Alberto

Piazza B. Cairoli, 13/15, 00186

Tel: 06 6861188, email: alberto.calzature1930@gmail.com

You will find Alberto on the lefthand side of the street as you enter Via dei Giubbonari from the Piazza B. Cairoli. Alberto stocks a great range of shoes, sandals and boots at reasonable prices  for men, women and children – and, better still, to the rear is a discount department full of bargains! It will be hard to escape with just one pair of shoes or boots – and for those who have sensitive feet (and after trudging along Rome’s cobbled streets, you will have sensitive feet) Alberto stocks a range of stylish and glamorous comfortable footwear with ergonomically designed comfort soles. Staff are super-helpful – if you stagger in and collapse, unable to take another step, they will do their best to find you a pair of shoes to soothe those aching feet. You may even find yourself returning for another pair!

Frandi

Via dei Giubbonari 31

Tel: 06 6879157

Frandi is just a few doors farther along the Via dei Giubbonari from Alberto – but it can be easy to miss because it is usually crowded with shoppers! Frandi stocks leather bags of all styles and prices – a huge leather shopper in delicious colours like mango or baby pink or pale grey will cost around €39 and will swing happily from your shoulder while you continue the rest of your shopping. The shelves are stocked to the ceiling with all sorts of bags – and rummaging is encouraged, with help on hand in the family-run shop.  Again, if you can get out of Frandi with just one bag, you will have done well!

Rome is full of shopping delights – and just a short walk away from the Via dei Giubbonari is a real gem if you like quirky and individual shops selling vintage clothes, artwork, antiques, gifts, handmade and herbal toiletries, handmade wooden toys and glassware, teas – just to name a few shopping opportunities! In my next post, we shall be paying this street a visit – and the good news is you can combine it with a trip to the Vatican or the Castel sant Angelo, so you can fit in some valuable sightseeing, too.

 

Want to go to Rome now? Download ROME ALONE and ROME AGAIN free at Amazon Kindle Unlimited or for £2.40 – and set off to the Eternal City for a a weekend of surprises, as unhappy housewife Bee and newly-divorced Alzheimer’s expert Dr Neil McCarthy leave from opposite ends of the country for a mini-break full of the unexpected that will change their lives forever. Return to Rome with them three years later and discover the forces at work which they never suspected on their first trip.

ROME ALONE was short-listed for the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook’s New Novel Centenary Award.

Both books contain sexual content, adult themes and dark humour which some might find upsetting. Also scenes of shopping, gelati, vino rosso, amore and Rome.

 

Download ROME ALONE

Download ROME AGAIN

 

The story continues in VERONA ALONE, when former cellist Moira decides to celebrate her divorce by fulfilling a childhood ambition and visiting Verona during the summer opera season. There she is taken under the wing of a generous American who appears to have a secret. It is not until Moira finds herself all at sea with him and in danger that she learns the truth.

Download VERONA ALONE

 

The fourth book in the series VERONA AGAIN will be published later in 2018.

Head to Rome, Verona and Venice, as three couples fight to save their relationships, not suspecting how their lives are intertwined. Who will succeed, who will fail  – and who will lose the love of their life?

 

Buon viaggio and happy shopping!

 

 

All images copyright Angela Meredith 2017