SHOPPING

Fine decorative leatherwork is highly prized the world over.

Since 1865, Tramontano has designed and produced the finest leather bags, luggage, wallets, belts and other accessories. Neapolitan craft techniques passed down from generation to generation are used to create hundreds of different styles, as well as exclusive commissions. Their simplicity and elegance has charmed celebrities around world, from Marcello Mastroianni, Tom Cruise and Lou Reed to Claudia Cardinale and Sigourney Weaver. All the original designs are made of natural leather or reptile skins and distinctive in their interwoven cuts, embroidery and colours.

The fruits of years of ceramic study and experiment.

Filippo Felaco is one of the leading artists of Naples. His ceramics are warm, mellow, dense, and definitively Neapolitan. The work is often experimental, and executed both by himself and in collaboration with many high ranking international artists for whom Filippo is highly regarded as a sensitive, capable and generous designer. Where each of the graceful and elegant pieces is sealed with the definitive mark of a fishbone, these workshops are testament to his continuing and great passion for his art.

From lemon fruit to limoncello, essence of Campania. See it made, and sample it.

The Campania region is famous for its lemons. Sorrento lemons in particular are prized for their quality, highly perfumed with sweet, juicy flesh and few seeds. In this enchanting place, carved from the ancient Greek and Roman walls in the heart of the city, the lemons are used to make the famous limoncello liqueur by macerating the zests in pure grain alcohol. Variations include nocillo, another strong liqueur with walnuts an essential ingredient. You can not only see the processes but also sample the results.

A fabulous collection of artworks depict the story of Naples in years gone by.

Naples is immortalised in scores of water colours, gouaches and antique prints, all safely conserved by the Regina family of famous antiquarians.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the city was a favourite destination for intellectuals and artists from all over Europe. This picturesque journey celebrates those times, capturing the city and its characteristic streets in all their glory. The exclusive archive has been collected over four generations from artists whose passion for Naples has inspired some of their best works.

Essential accessories bring you style as well as protection from sun and rain.

Talarico has been supplying hand-made umbrellas to demanding customers since the 19th century. In those days, the firm specialised in pure silk umbrellas with ivory, silver and majolica handles for a clientele that included the Italian Royal Family. Today, Mario Talarico, senior member of the family firm, and his nephews keep alive the art of making umbrellas entirely by hand and from the best materials, including handles in cherry, broom, rattan and cane. Each umbrella is made to order, some still custom-built to the client’s requirements.

A symbol of elegance recognized around the world.

At Marinella a tie is the indispensable accessory for the successful man. Heads of state, princes and royalty, actors and successful people are at home in the small but well stocked shop: Albert of Monaco, Prince Juan Carlos as well as D'Alema and Berlusconi, to name a few.
A tradition that is repeated and enriched by several generations, thanks to the continuous search for quality materials, expert craftsmanship and new inspirations that make each tie unique.

The mandolin is a symbol of Naples' special kind of music and romance.

The mandolins of Liuteria Calace, classic symbols of Neapolitan music, have been hand made by the Calace family since 1825. As the secrets of their design and construction have been passed down the generations, they have been increasingly perfected, so that today the excellence of these instruments is recognised all over the world. They represent Neapolitan craftsmanship at it very finest, receiving international awards and prizes, and acknowledged by all the concert musicians who play them as the defining standard.

Recognised around the world by the well-dressed man and woman.

Rubinacci’s famous made-to-measure suits, shirts and ties, as well as ladies fashions, have spread the reputation of Neapolitan beauty, craftsmanship and soul around the world. From Rome, Milan and Tokyo to Paris, London and New York, the quality of the cut and the craftsmanship of every single detail satisfy the most demanding customers’ needs and requests. In Naples, the Rubinacci tailor’s shop and workrooms embody this unique way of dressing, under the expert guidance of the family’s third-generation Mariano Rubinacci.

Since the time of the Bourbons, the art of the coral jeweller keeps progressing.

Giovanni Ascione established his coral jewellery business in the town of Torre del Greco during the reign of Ferdinand II of Bourbon. Over a century later the unique creations are still made there, but the company’s fascinating research centre and showrooms are to be found in Naples’ Galleria Umberto I. Here new styles and techniques are developed for coral as well as other materials. Next door, Ascione’s private museum displays a wonderful collection of coral and cameo jewellery from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Brinkmann is a watch - jewellery shop that offers products of great refinement and quality.

In 1900 a young German graduate had decided to spend the early years of his life travelling the world. Moving through Naples he was conquered by the beauty of the city and its warm climate and so opened one of the most beautiful jewellery shops ever seen.
Even today the tradition continues and the store not only offers a wide range of jewellery, watches, diamonds and silver, even a workshop for the repair of watches and ancient or modern clocks, and its own production of jewellery.
Today his grandchildren continue to carry on the tradition of their uncle with skill and courtesy.

The studios of a sculptor and painter of world importance.

Lello Esposito is one of Naples’ greatest artists with a truly international reputation. As a sculptor and painter for over 30 years, his works concentrate mainly on symbols of Naples, such as Pulcinella, San Gennaro, Castel dell’Ovo and Vesuvius. A visit to his studios, converted from the stables of Palazzo Sansevero that dates back to the 1500s, means being immersed in history and breathing in a little magic. One of Esposito’s works is exhibited on the tenth floor of the Romeo Hotel Naples.

From 1780 it is a landmark for Neapolitan gentlemen, Cilento is one of the highest examples of Neapolitan tailoring.

The store, one of the oldest in Naples, is a place of rare charm, where Ugo Cilento, eighth generation of the family, offers high quality clothes and accessories. The activity is purely sartorial: the suits, the famous seven-fold ties and shirts are handmade according to traditional methods and only the finest fabrics.

Traditional handmade chocolates inspired by an old love story.

Naples’ premier cioccolateria is named after Isidore Odin and Onorina Gay: its founder from Piedmont and his assistant with whom he fell in love. This is their original store on Via Toledo which opened in 1894. There are now also six others around the city. Indulge yourself with exclusive Gay-Odin chocolate bars wrapped in Art Nouveau style paper. Or walk away with a personal selection of individual chocolates in a handsome blue oval box beautifully decorated with scenes of 19th-century Naples.

The highest quality religious scenes are created in terracotta, wood and silk.

In Naples, nativity scenes are more traditional and significant than Christmas trees. This firm is known for its high-quality scenes, which it has been handcrafting for nearly 200 years. Giuseppe and Marco Ferrigno have eight employees who make about 500 scenes a year, using terracotta and wood figures that range from 2 to 40 centimetres high. Special touches are added, including silk from San Leucio, a town near Naples with an ancient silk-making tradition. Some specially made scenes can command very high prices.

Classic shaves and haircuts, with all the style of a great Naples tradition.

When Antonio Boellis opened his barber shop in 1924, his engaging personality was a big attraction, becoming a friend, confidant and adviser to his clients while giving them classic haircuts and shaves. In 1960, his son, Peppino, relocated the business to its present spot, and added the spa facilities. Today, he looks to the grandson Michele, clipping and combing at lightning speed, to perfect the traditional family craft – and to spread the Boellis name beyond Naples to the world with the exclusive Panama 1924 toiletries line.

One of the leading exponents of 'the art of the nativity', the Christmas tradition.

Naples has become well known around the world for the creation of beautiful Christmas cribs and other sacred and religious objects. At Scarabattola, the skilful hands of the Scotto brothers use clay and precious fabrics in just the same way as their family has done for generations in order to reinterpret the classical figurines in a modern context. Here owner Raphael Scotto talks with passion about his city, its history and values, influences he brings to his craft on a daily basis.