Shopping in Rome: a useful guide to the 4 most remarkable areas of the Italian capital

After having visited the basilicas, the monuments and the ancient ruins of Rome, you should take some time to relax and enjoy shopping in the several shops of the capital. You can visit the historical centre and walk through the streets of the Trident among boutiques known all over the world, such as those of Armani and Bulgari, or discover Via del Corso where to find shops with more affordable prices, and visit the Galleria Alberto Sordi; if you are antiques lovers, don't miss Via Campo Marzio! These places - where luxury shops are the leaders - are also the best known in the heart of the capital, easily accessible by public transport - less by car - and always very crowded.
There are more remarkable areas - with less tourists - almost peripheral, but full of Roman citizens, where you can find Italian manufactories, vintage objects and make low cost purchases of any kind. Here you are four absolutely unmissable areas for a walk, to discover the Roman shop windows.

Along the Appio Latino
In the west of Rome, between Piazza San Giovanni and Piazza Re di Roma, there is the Appio Latino area, very appreciated by the Romans who love doing shopping there, without taking care of parking and avoiding the chaos of the historical centre. There, you can walk around small shops selling lots of peculiar items of home and kitchen furniture, such as doormats, and wall or cuckoo clocks, or getting enchanted by the numerous luxury shops of clothing, shoes and bags, mono-brand or with many brands, like the prestigious Luisa Spagnoli store (you can find it in all the largest cities in Italy).
Next to the windows with prices not always so cheap - anyway making the walk pleasant! -, discovering the latest fashion trends, you find Via Tuscolana, for a low cost shopping without renouncing to style, easily accessible by the underground. Finally, if you are wandering around there, you have to visit the street market in Via Sannio, known all over the world by famous American stars who do not miss a visit during their stay in Rome. The local market takes place every day in the morning, and on Saturday afternoons, and you can find everything from new to the second-hand items, for affordable prices.

Districts to be discovered in the south
In the south of the Italian capital, between Trastevere station and the University of Roma Tre, there are little known districts, loved by the Romans, such as the Ostiense and Portuense district, full of shops selling brands famous all over the world and items of clothing made by the fine Italian manufacture. Along Viale Guglielmo Marconi, you can find shops selling household appliances, books, sporting goods and trendy shops, especially loved by young people, such as Pimkie. In the Eur district, born by the will of Mussolini to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the March on Rome, today is the district of public and private companies' offices; in Viale Europa you can find other leather and clothing stores.

The area around the Vatican and along the Tiber
Walking along the Tiber towards the Vatican, you will be in front of Prati district, where Via Cola di Rienzo is located, the decentralized alternative of Via del Corso. Numerous boutiques of famous clothing brands are mixed to shops selling objects, housewares goods and high quality food, such as wine and liqueurs. In this area, there still is one of the few indoor markets in Rome, where you can find everything. Along the way, a recently refurbished art deco building shows its beauty, where the Coin Excelsior is hosted. There are shops of the most fashionable and famous brands of clothing, perfumes, cosmetics, leather goods and one of the two "Tiffany", the most precious Roman boutiques selling jewels.
Finally, you have to visit the chicest district of Rome, Parioli district, where the inhabitants are accustomed to do luxury shopping next to their maindoor, and admire showcases with precious cashmere sweaters, expensive sports equipment for the beach and the mountain, and many original gadgets for different prices. In the north, along Via Flaminia Vecchia, other shops of famous brands of clothing, bags and shoes are situated.

In the centre: the hidden streets
In the trendiest neighbourhood of Rome near the Colosseum, you find Rione Monti, and Via del Boschetto is perfect for lovers of vintage, clothing and alternative but trendy accessories. The prices of the shops are not accessible to everybody, but watching them has no price, as well as a tour of the Mercatino di Monti, taking place every Sunday and hosting hundreds of people looking for good deals.
Not far from Piazza Navona, you get in Via del Governo Vecchio, once a place of the Roman vintage par excellence, where you could then find clothes of the Sixties and Seventies, like leather jackets and second-hand clothes in shops characterised by a typical acrid smell. Even if today the primacy belongs to Monti district, you can still find historical vintage shops there. It is a quiet street not very well known by tourists, where to enter a very special bookshop dedicated to the cinema, with selling books about screenplays and movie posters symbol of the history of cinema.
If you want to visit one unusual street, you can visit Via del Pellegrino - once Via degli Orafi - as there were numerous goldsmith stores. Today, the name comes from the Osteria dei Pellegrini, welcoming pilgrims all over the world, in Rome to visit the Basilica of Saint Peter. Nowadays, you find no more goldsmiths, but modern shops with a handicraft style, selling handmade objects, such as lamps or footwear, clothes and bags, by famous Roman designers. In Rome, there actually are so many shops where to do shopping, from the centre to the outskirts, from luxury to low cost shops, where to have a good coffee break, near a colossal monument!