This article is part of a guide to Milan from FT Globetrotter
As a global fashion and design capital, Milan has long been a favourite shopping destination for tourists and locals alike. During the festive season, the hustle and bustle of the city’s centre ramps up as the Milanese rush to buy gifts and visitors flock to town.
Each year, a majestic Christmas tree is installed at the heart of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan’s 19th-century luxury shopping arcade that opens up on to the Duomo cathedral. It’s usually lit on December 7 to mark the feast of Sant’Ambrogio, the city’s patron saint. For the rest of the month, queues form around the tree as people squeeze in for photos, while other visitors to the galleria stop in to gaze at the festive displays adorning its luxury boutiques, which include the likes of Prada, Moncler and Gucci.
This year, the traditional pine has been replaced by a composition of silver rounded cubes, each one featuring Gucci logos (the company sponsored the display), piled in a pyramid, Christmas tree-like shape. It drew a flurry of criticism on social media when it was unveiled last week, with one user saying it looked like “the storage room at [Milan’s] Linate airport.”
In any case, busy locals know it’s best to avoid the galleria and its crowds, instead favouring other shops to pick up delicious panettone, marrons glacés (candied chestnuts), candied fruit and other delicacies, or gifts that are lower in calories but, in many cases, higher in price.
Here’s a list of where to shop for gifts in central Milan — and don’t worry if you aren’t heading to town before the end-of-year holidays are over. They’re all open for business year round, and though you may not find panettone or festive snow globes, you can be sure these destinations will be worth the trip.
Personal gifts
Lorenzi
Piazza Filippo Meda 3, 20121 Milan
This shop, which sells self-care goods, high-end bathroom accessories and speciality steel kitchen- and tableware, has become a Milanese institution since it opened in 1929. Federico Marchetti, chair of King Charles III’s fashion task force, said he gifted the British monarch a toothpaste squeezer from Lorenzi. I once bought someone close to me Lorenzi’s incredible kitchen-knife set with bamboo handles, though my mother (and, more recently, my editor) noted that in many cultures it is bad luck to do so as it represents the severance of ties.
Still, there are a variety of other present options here and it’s nearly impossible to go wrong, with items ranging from shaving and manicure sets (which can cost more than €2,500 for a set with the holder covered in mother of pearl), to brass corkscrews with a variety of handle types, truffle-shaving accessories (one with a deer-antler handle costs €224), fireplace sets and shoe-shining kits.
Since its early days the business has expanded but remains family-owned (it is now in the hands of Mauro Lorenzi, grandson of its original owners). Lorenzi now runs two shops in the city, while the historic site on Via Montenapoleone, the luxury fashion street, recently moved to a new location nearby on Piazza Filippo Meda. Website; Directions
Giolina e Angelo
Via Solferino 22A, 20121 Milan
Located in the Brera district — famous for its design stores, trendy fashion stores and gourmet restaurants — this family-owned jewellery shop, which has been around for decades, has become popular among hip Milanese women for its ultra-thin 18ct gold rings (many wear several at a time, usually on their ring, index and middle fingers) and its Invisible line, which features small and often colourful charms on delicate necklaces. (Prices for the latter range from €40 to €290, depending on the charm.)
My favourite pieces are the funkier ones, such as the colourful beaded gold chokers that can be worn layered with other necklaces of varied lengths; bright gold rings with a blue resin medal featuring a small Virgin Mary in silver; gold snake rings (which were popular in Italy as children’s gifts in the ’80s and ’90s and are now back in style with an older demographic); and name rings with the letters spelt out in beautiful cursive characters. A variety of trendy charms including hearts, moons and religious symbols, which can be fitted to earrings and necklaces, is also available. Everything is handmade. Website; Directions
Il Cirmolo
Via Fiori Chiari, 3, 20121 Milan
Fans of vintage accessories will adore Il Cirmolo. Owner Matteo Giannelli, himself a collector, personally selects each piece on sale in this bazaar-like shop. From enamelled 1950s and neon signs to industrial furniture and statues of cartoon characters and superheroes up to two metres tall, this shop is an endless source of gift inspiration for those who like all things retro. (I personally love it, and the shop’s large statue of Goofy will end up in my living room sooner or later.)
For most of the statues and signs, which are the real highlight here, you’ll need a large space at home or in the office — and a large budget: the cartoon-character statues, for example, can cost €3,000 or more. But there are plenty of smaller options that will please adults and children alike. I like the old-school corded phones, 15cm Disney characters and piggybanks, as well as branded ashtrays and bar trays. Website; Directions
Rinascente
Piazza del Duomo, 20121 Milan
Rinascente is Italy’s luxury department store par excellence, with locations across eight cities (and annual revenues of about €800mn). Milan’s was the first, opening in the late 1800s at the same address, where it has expanded over time. Founded by the Bocconi brothers (the same family that went on to establish the city’s prestigious Bocconi University), it is a popular shopping destination for just about anything, from designer clothes, cosmetics and perfume to high-end pantry items.
While the store is worth a visit year round, its ‘Christmas factory’ — from early November until late December — is a must-see and an almost certain source of festive souvenirs. (If visiting with children, I can say from experience that they will appreciate it more than the designer-shoes floor, though I wouldn’t miss that either.)
For everything from Christmas-tree decorations to Nutcracker figurines, this place is a delight. If, however, thematic shopping bores you, or you’re looking for gifts at a different time of year, head to the basement and enjoy the enormous variety of design pieces, from beautiful furniture and lamps to tableware. Website; Directions
Delicacies
Giovanni Galli
Via Victor Hugo 2, 20123 Milan, and Corso di Porta Romana 2, 20122 Milan
This 112-year old confectionery, which has two branches in Milan’s city centre, is still owned by its founders, the Galli family. Over the decades, it has stayed true to its tradition of producing artisanal marron glacés, boeri chocolates (a dark-chocolate praline filled with a cherry and cherry liqueur) and fruit jellies. They all sell from €45 per 100g box or €84 per kilo, which is more than the average price for such sweets, but the production is done entirely in house, in its laboratory south of the city centre, with fresh ingredients.
The chestnuts for the marrons glacés, arguably its best known and most popular confection, arrive straight from the Avellino region in southern Italy and have a special certification that indicates high quality. The fruit sweets are a must-try: my favourite flavours are orange and prune. Website; Directions
Sant Ambroeus
Corso Giacomo Matteotti 7, 20121 Milan
Named after Milan’s patron saint, Sant Ambroeus first opened its doors in 1936. It is now an internationally recognised brand after becoming a sensation in the US with restaurants, cafés and gelaterie in New York City, the Hamptons, Palm Beach and Aspen.
Yet it is in Milan that it preserves its true heritage, and for many locals it is the go-to place for panettone, the Milanese Christmas cake filled with candied fruit and raisins, or the more modern chocolate-filled variations. The traditional panettone here costs €46 per kilo, or €76 in a special gift box. Meanwhile, the 1kg chocolate version is €50 and the pandoro, a typical Italian butter-based sweet Christmas bread, for €46 (500g versions of all Christmas cakes, which may be easier to fit into a suitcase, are also available).
Sant Ambroeus is also one of the few central Milanese patisseries to have its kitchen on site. It recently added a high-end restaurant to its historic café, and though the elegant and clean decor gives no hint of the liveliness behind the scenes, at times the basement floor can be even busier than the bar and restaurant areas as pastry chefs knead the panettone and whip up the other cakes that are available year round. Website; Directions
Laboratorio Niko Romito
Via Solferino 12, 20121 Milan
Award-winning chef Niko Romito, who runs the three-Michelin-star restaurant Reale in Abruzzo (and several other upscale eateries, including the restaurant at Milan’s Bulgari hotel), opened this little shop in Milan’s chichi Brera district last year to showcase his bakery line.
The name Laboratorio is a testament to Romito’s extensive research and experimentation around food and packaging. The bread, cakes (including gluten- and lactose-free ones) and biscuits (all vegan), are produced in Abruzzo where Romito is based, many vacuum-sealed in elegant tin containers to maintain their freshness.
The critically-acclaimed panettone and the pandolce, a typical Italian tea cake, are delicious, as are the fruit spreads (I recommend fig). But if there’s one thing that must be purchased, it is the bread — a hit among locals and gourmets. The ready-made loaf looks tiny and dry when you take it out of its nitrogen-sealed bag (which must be kept in the fridge, where it lasts for up to 40 days). Then it takes 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 200C to “regenerate” it: once out of the oven the loaf is as fluffy and fresh as an expressly made one.
It comes in a variety of flavours: a plain semi-wholewheat version made from ancient solina and saragolla dark flours from Abruzzo, as well as white flour and potato; tomato, rosemary and capers; black olives and rosemary; and chocolate and cherries. The dark flour one, which I particularly enjoy with a savoury breakfast, also pairs well with the fruit spreads, and costs €6 for a 400g pack, while the tomato and olive loaves are €10. Website; Directions
Peck
Via Spadari 9, 20123 Milan
Peck, named after grocer Franz Peck who founded it in 1883, is a go-to for wealthy Milanese when it comes to pre-made dishes, banqueting, charcuterie, sauces and spreads. It also has a fruit and vegetable market, a café and restaurant and a well-stocked wine store.
While the ready meals will be impossible to carry home on a flight, some of its signature glass jars of dried fruit and the packs of truffle pasta (such as handmade tagliolini, €20 for 250g) will be valued gifts from Milan.
The carciofini (baby artichokes) in extra-virgin olive oil are a hit (€45 for 180g), but there’s a whole aisle of jarred vegetables and mostarda (a candied-fruit condiment). The liver pâté — one of the shop’s signature products — is also a popular gift among locals. Website; Directions
Children’s corner
Nano Bleu
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 15, 20122 Milan
This toy store is where Santa Claus buys presents for my children. It’s an old-style independent shop that has been around for more than 70 years, and you can find just about anything for children of all ages. Santa also appreciates its richly decorated windows during the festive season.
The soft-toy department is big and well stocked, and includes the very large-sized ones that tend to be a rarity in Italy of late, as well as rocking horses. There’s also a large offering of baby toys, dolls’ houses and vehicles in a variety of sizes.
The large cement mixers and tractors are very popular with Milanese toddlers, and primary-school children love the smaller remote-controlled police and race cars (which cost about €40). Website; Directions
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