La Dolce Vita will include a visit to two Tuscan markets

First an antique Tuscan market and the Siena weekly market. The two Tuscan markets will have vastly different offerings affording attendees a look at two different Italian market styles.

Siena weekly market

The Siena weekly market is where locals go to purchase food and reasonably priced clothing, shoes and household items. While there will be some booths selling second hand clothes, for the most part this market offers new items. If you’re a fan of Italian linen, this is the place to pick up tops, dresses and pants at prices that are difficult to match at home. In fact, we joke that “shop ’til you drop” was invented for a favorite linen booth (see above, ha ha!).

In addition to clothing/shoes/housewares, there is also a small food section where you can see Italian Nonnas choose cheese, fresh vegetables and meats for their table and shopkeepers call out their offerings hoping to attract buyers to their stall.

Antique Markets

For antique lovers and vintage loving vixens, there is nothing like shopping the antique markets of Europe and your week at La Dolce Vita will include a visit to one! At the markets, you are typically able to find religious medals, linens, jewelry, porcelain, and bric-à-brac galore!

For the May 18-25, 2019 La Dolce Vita week, we plan to visit the Lucca antique market. Lucca lies approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes from our home base of Borgo Personatina. A beautiful medieval walled town, you will find quaint cafes, beautiful churches and a photo op around every corner as you wander through the town.

Here’s an idea of what to expect from the Summer in Italy website:

“Lucca hosts the region’s second biggest antique market. Its strength (shared by many other Tuscan towns) lies in its setting among the town’s lovely streets where bread chests, cupboards, bedside tables, armchairs and hundreds of other objects are on display, where even a new object looks like a valuable antique. In addition to furniture, you can find XIX-century linens, vintage postcards, antique china and World War I memorabilia.”

Arezzo antique market

At our June 1-8, 2019 La Dolce Vita retreat, we plan to visit the Arezzo antique market. Arezzo lies approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes from our home base. This lovely town, which is built on the side of a hill, has become known as an antique lovers paradise. Not only is the town host to the region’s largest antique market, but it is also home to many dealers who have store fronts to sell their wares.

Here’s an idea of what to expect from the Umbria Tuscany Villa website:

“Arezzo, in Tuscany has iconic Etruscan art, Roman ruins, medieval walls, Renaissance architecture, as well as Piero della Francesca frescos in the basilica of San Francesco. If that were not enough, Arezzo becomes a treasure-hunter’s heaven, on the first weekend of every month transforming into Tuscany’s largest monthly Antiques Market with 500 exhibitors and about 100 small shops.”

Should you end up purchasing more treasures than will fit into your suitcase, it will be possible for you to bring them to a shipping company when we visit Siena to have them mailed home to you.

*Please note, as we are preparing our schedule several months out. There is always the possibility that the actual markets we visit could be different. This is dependent on the tuscan market dates. *