We know that visiting the markets, second hand shops and vintage dealer’s warehouses will be a memorable part of your La Dolce Vita: Antiquing Edition 2026 experience.

Here’s a short recap of our plans:

We will visit two large-scale markets: the largest antique market in Tuscany in Arezzo, followed by the Siena weekly market on a different day. 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 the odd booth selling second hand clothes and housewares, 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.

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.

After visiting the Siena weekly market in the morning, attendees will be able to explore the city on their own to enjoy the local sights and have lunch before rejoining the group for a reception at a stunning palazzo.

Siena is, undoubtably, one of the jewels of Tuscany. Famous because of its beautiful architecture and the Palio horse race that takes place twice each summer in the “Il Campo” square, it’s a town full of photo ops and pretty vistas. Yet, amongst the typical tourist shops and fashion stores, you will also find a thriving local community who call the city home and welcome the influx of tourism dollars to their city coffers.

ANTIQUE MARKET

For antique lovers and vintage loving vixens, there is nothing like shopping the antique markets of Europe. At the markets, you are typically able to find linens, jewelry, porcelain, silverware/kitchen implements, and bric-à-brac galore!

At our Oct 3-10, 2026 La Dolce Vita retreat, we will 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.”

In addition to visiting the markets, we will also visit a few “top secret locations”, these are dealer warehouses, and second hand stores that will reward us with some veritable treasures!

Should you end up purchasing more treasures than will fit into your suitcase, we will be including a visit to a shipping company at the tail end of our week so that you can mail goods home.

* Please note, if you are in the market for large pieces of furniture, we will not be able to coordinate container shipping, although we can recommend a company to you. Additionally clients are required to be aware of their home country’s import procedures if they are planning on shipping or bringing commercial goods home. *

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BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

For those who want to soak up every antiquing opportunity that they can, we invite you to join us after the retreat for an optional two night add-on as we journey north from Siena to Parma, where we will visit the Fall edition of the twice annual Mercanteinfiera, a huge exhibition in the Parma convention centre, where dealers from around Europe will gather to sell their wares.

Immediately post retreat, we will take a private bus from our retreat base to Parma where we will stay at a large hotel close to the bus station.

Pricing will vary based on the number of clients who choose to add this extension. That said, we expect that the ballpark add on price will be between €550-670 euros based on double occupancy. Once we know how many clients plan to add the extension, the precise cost will be disclosed before clients are asked to commit.