The true fresh food markets inside are a morning thing. There are delicatessens that appear to stay open all day. The treat for us around midday was to join the queue of mainly locals at one of the seafood outlets where freshly cooked, lightly battered fish, calamari, prawns and octopus was being offered. I tried unsuccessfully to find the stall number or business name. I think that the stall is called Pescherian Seafood but no Google link was later found. For E10 we were given a plate (paper of course with plastic forks) of a mixture of the above products. The guy running the stall was pleasant and coped with our and a few other tourists attempts to order. We stood at a market doorway enjoying the breeze and had a great and memorable true Italian snack.

This market is a short walk from Galleria dell' Academia. Around the outside of the market are stall selling leather goods. Inside is food galore from fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish to salami, cheese, sandwich shops, coffee bars and gourmet shops selling balsamico vinegar. The balsamic vinegars must be big money makers because so many stores have set up stations for testing. If you are buying the expensive bottles, try bargaining a bit, you'll be surprised the prices can be negotiated. And if you live overseas, you can have goods shipped home for 50-60 euros per 5kg. Not cheap, but it's an option.
There is one stall in the middle that sells cheese, ham and salami. He must have really good stuff at reasonable prices because there are many locals as well as tourists who line up to buy all sorts of goodies. For an extra 0.50 euro, he can seal your ham or cheese in vacuum pack so you can keep them longer. We bought parmigiano reggiano cheese from him for 14.9euro/kg. His Parmigiano reggiano classico is 15.9euro/kg, but you must buy a whole piece without cutting.

We spent several hours wandering through the San Lorenzo market. Available for purchase was leather handbags, wallets, belts, gorgeous scarves, tapestries, ceramic pieces and jewelry. The prices are lower here than what I saw in other parts of Italy. The bonus is you can bargain with the vendors who often lower their prices - especially if you buy several items from their shop.

We purchased a couple of leather handbags and were able to bargain with the vendor for a lower price. I wish we had purchased more of these. I get numerous compliments on mine here in the States. I should have purchased one in every color instead of just black and brown. I was also happy to find gorgeous religious tapestries that were quite reasonable compared to similar ones I saw at the Vatican. We made several purchases here for ourselves and for souvenirs for family and friends.

This is a "must" place to visit if you are looking for a good deal and want quality items. The prices here are lower for most everything when compared to similar versions of items in other parts of Italy. This really is a shopaholics paradise, and we enjoyed every minute here.

Also, right behind some of the vendors are brick and mortar shops where you can also purchase some very nice Italian items. I ended up several ceramic pieces from one of these shops that I did not see anywhere else during my trip.

This was a wonderful shopping experience in every aspect and I can't wait to go back. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. :)