14 Best Places to Shop in Centro Storico, Naples

Bags and purses are crafted here while you watch.

A tiny hole in the wall, Egraphe is crammed with notebooks of every style and size, different kinds of handmade papers, and unusual pens and pencils.

Shops selling Nativity scenes cluster along the Via San Gregorio Armeno off Spaccanapoli, and they're all worth a glance. The most famous is Ferrigno. Although Maestro Giuseppe Ferrigno died in 2008, the family business continues, still faithfully using 18th-century techniques.

A small alleyway leading off the side of the Gesù Nuovo toward Via Toledo hides a little-known jewel that is worth the detour. Gallucci, founded in 1890, specializes in fruit-filled chocolates (cherry and grape are memorable) and a delightfully original local cult item: chestnuts filled with marsala. It also produces the most fantastically packaged Easter eggs—all with huge silver or gold bows—that you are ever likely to see.

Chocolate lovers will be thrilled to know that Gay-Odin, Naples's most famous cioccolateria, has eight stores around town, all recognizable by their inviting dark-wood Art Nouveau decor. Try the signature chocolate forest cake (foresta) or the unusual "naked" chocolates (nudi), a suave mixture of chestnuts and walnuts, some with a whole coffee bean wrapped in the center.

The art of mosaic making is still practiced in Naples and can be seen in this tiny workshop.

The store's Scuotto family creates Nativity scenes in both classic Neapolitan and contemporary styles, donating the Presepe Favoloso to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Sanità in 2021. Past customers include the Spanish royal family.

Neapolitan artist Lello Esposito has his workshop here, just across the courtyard from what is more of a museum than a store. Renowned for his renderings of a popular puppet named Pulcinella (the prototype for Punch of Punch & Judy), you can see a statue of his creation at the top of Vico del Fico al Purgatorio, just off Via dei Tribunali. Lello also has an atelier in Brooklyn and has created works for Obama.

The antique wooden cabinets and tables at this old-fashioned bookstore are laden with volumes about art, local history, and esoterica. Another branch, Libreria Colonnese Books&More at Via San Biagio dei Librai 100, has more modern titles.

A small store with many books about Neapolitan art and history, this place stocks a few English titles and has a wide selection of music CDs.

Since 1825, several generations of the Calace family have contributed to this prestigious shop's reputation for exquisitely made mandolins. This is an active workshop, so phone ahead for an appointment.

The best place in the city for fruit and vegetables, this market can be found several blocks northwest of Piazza Carità off Via Toledo.

The club set heads to perky Oblomova for vintage and handmade clothing and accessories, as well as for books, vinyl, CDs, and even cassettes.