Shopping in Modena

Shopping in Modena

Outstanding local culinary delicacies, handicrafts, antiques, and much more. Take home a souvenir!

Take a little bit of Modena home in your suitcase. Be sure to leave time for shopping.

In Modena’s historical center a wide range of shops offer clothing, perfume, leather goods, jewelry, books, food, and more: an embarrassment of riches!

The city’s many historic shops should be on your “must see” list. Treat yourself to a trip back in time!

Modena’s historic shops play a significant role in carrying on Modena’s culture and traditions. They’ve operated on the same sites for more than fifty years and have kept their original signage and furnishings.

Shopping in Modena

Don’t miss the shopping or the atmosphere at the historic Albinelli Market, the successor to a traditional medieval market. Since 1831, it has been located in the city’s historical center. Albinelli is a covered marketplace with an old-timey feel, and today, as in the past, all Modena’s local specialties in food and drink are available there. The Market’s refined architecture and the presence of one of Giuseppe Graziosi’s most beautiful sculptures were the main reasons why the Albinelli Market was designated a national historical monument in 1997.

Once you’re back home, re-live the tastes and sensations of your time here with some of Modena’s most delicious culinary specialties.

The ModenAmoreMio association, founded to promote Modena’s historical center, also organizes activities and events around local food, drink, and handicrafts. Check out the list of ModenAmoreMio’s coming events to find out what’s happening during your visit.

All across the City and the Province of Modena, meanwhile, a variety of weekly outdoor marketplaces offer the chance to shop and to take in the atmosphere of another time.

Near Carpi, well-known outlet stores sell clothing and accessories, and, in the hills and mountains and scattered across the river valley, emporiums of all kinds offer bargains in local food and drink, including cured meats, cheese, and fruit.

In the Apennines, buy direct from local firms and at outdoor markets and local festivals: natural cosmetics, jams and preserves, syrups, liqueurs, grains, mushrooms, and sweet-smelling wild fruit like whortleberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and currants.

Shopping in Modena


Area holiday farms are another great place to stock up on such outstanding local delicacies as prosciutto, Vignola cherries, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, traditional balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco wine, and many other delicacies.

The Modena area’s antiques markets deserve a special mention for all they have to offer.

Modena, in fact, has long had a marked fascination for antiquarian and vintage items, dating back to the dukes of the House of Este who added constantly to what is now the Estense Gallery, a collection of works by world-renowned artists.

Each February, the ModenAntiquaria show takes place at the expo center. It’s the oldest and most heavily visited antiquarian fair in Italy as well as one of the finest displays of vintage art in Europe. ModenAntiquaria is an international cultural event, and prestigious galleries from all over Italy and the world exhibit rare and precious works that tell the story of Europe’s historic, artistic, and cultural life.

In the city itself, antiquarian items make their way to the Antico in Piazza Grande show every fourth Saturday and Sunday of the month (with the exception of July). The event is organized in Piazza Grande, Piazza Torre, and Piazza XX September by the local merchants’ association, and enthusiasts will find gifts, furniture, toys, fabrics, clocks, books, carefully restored antiques, and handmade items that reflect the culture and art of a bygone day.

Other towns in Modena Province also host fairs and marketplaces that offer antiques, collectibles, and old-fashioned gift items.