One of my favorite things about Sorrento is how much shopping there is to do. Corso Italia, the main shopping street in Sorrento, gives you high fashion and housewares, and then you wander down one of the little side streets and suddenly you’re in a tiny gallery or a shop that smells like fresh leather. There really is something for every taste and every budget.
We shopped every single day we were there. I could have spent hours just looking at all the lemon everything, the pottery, the little trinkets that make you feel like you’ve bottled up a piece of the Mediterranean sun.
But here’s the thing nobody tells you before you go: not everything in Sorrento is actually made in Sorrento. Or the Amalfi Coast. Or even Italy, for that matter. I lost count of how many times I picked up a plate or a mug thinking “how charming, how Italian” only to flip it over and see it was made somewhere on the other side of the world. If buying authentic, Italian-made goods matters to you, do a little homework before you go and always check the tag before you buy. My rule of thumb: if you see the exact same item in five shops in a row and it’s suspiciously cheap, it did not come from an Italian workshop.
So with that in mind, here are the pieces that actually made it home in our suitcases, all authentically Italian, and exactly where we found them.
Art
Tucked away at 98 Via San Cesareo, the Sorrento Fine Art Gallery is a small shop filled with genuine paintings from local artists. Not cheap, mind you (the small ones start around $70), but we fell so hard for the work (and the charming, elderly Italian shop owner) that we ended up bringing home four pieces. We managed to fit them all in our carry-ons, though honestly they’ll ship for you if you’d rather not risk it.
Pottery
When I went down the rabbit hole researching authentic pottery shops, Nicky Souvenirs kept coming up again and again. We bought straight from Nicky himself, a few bowls and small trays, every piece handmade and hand-painted right there in Italy. There’s something about buying from the shop owner, a little Italian gentleman, that just feels right.
Leather
You cannot walk two feet in Sorrento without seeing leather goods, purses, wallets, belts, shoes, gloves, you name it. Most of it is leather-adjacent at best. But Antonella Ferrante is the real thing. A quick search told us the boutique has a solid reputation across Italy, and once we stepped inside we understood why. We walked out with more than we planned on and we’ve been using our purses since.
Custom Sandals
This one is close to my heart. The first time I visited the Amalfi Coast, a friend told me I had to get custom sandals made. That was back in 2015, and I still wear that pair for special occasions. So when I went back with my daughter, there was no question, she needed a pair of her own. We went to the very same shop where I got mine, Safari Sandals in Positano. Watching her pick out her style and color and get fitted, all in under thirty minutes, gave us this lovely shared memory that has nothing to do with the sandals themselves and everything to do with the moment.
Food (the kind that survives a carry-on)
Bringing food home is always a risky, especially if you’re not checking a bag. Sorrento will absolutely tempt you, lemon cakes, cookies, candy, and of course limoncello everywhere you look. If you have the room, a good bottle of limoncello is worth grabbing for a quiet summer evening when you want to think back on the trip. We travel carry-on only though, so tiny bottles just didn’t make sense for us. Instead we brought home olive oil from La Masseria Farm, the sweet little lemon and olive grove we toured while we were there.
Every one of these pieces means something to us. They’re not just souvenirs sitting on a shelf, they’re little reminders of a trip we loved, and a small way of bringing a bit of it home with us.
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