Catania shops in layers: A Fera 'o Luni's tarpaulin stalls, the ceramicists of Via Vittorio Emanuele, and lava-stone ateliers cutting Etna basalt into rings. Bring cash for markets, cards for Via Etnea, and an empty duffel for Bronte pistachio.
Catania's lava-walled fish market runs Mon–Sat roughly 07:00–14:00, dead by 13:00 on Saturdays. Beyond swordfish and sea urchins, the perimeter stalls sell salted capers, dried oregano bunches and anchovies in jars for €3–8 — the genuinely portable buys.
Catania's sprawling daily market (Mon–Sat, 07:00–14:00) is where locals actually shop. The eastern half is food; the western tarpaulin section is clothing, linen tablecloths, leather belts and household goods at a third of Via Etnea prices.
The stretch east of Piazza Duomo holds small ateliers carving Etna basalt into rings, pendants and coasters, often polished in the back room while you wait. Pieces run €25 for a pendant to €150 for silver-set lava rings.
Hand-painted Caltagirone ceramics — teste di moro heads, pigna pinecones, tiled house numbers — cluster near Villa Bellini. Small pinecones start at €18; a matched pair of moor's heads runs €90–250 depending on hand-painting detail.
The 3km boulevard from Piazza Duomo to Villa Bellini carries Italian mid-range labels — Rinascente, Zara, Benetton, Calzedonia — plus long-standing Catanese menswear houses. Most open 09:30–13:30 and 16:30–20:00, with big names staying open through lunch.
A pasticceria opposite the university with cassata, cannoli and marzipan frutta martorana sold by weight. Boxed almond paste fruits travel well at roughly €30/kg; single pieces around €2.
Catania's affluent shopping axis east of the centre, lined with independent designer boutiques, eyewear and Italian shoe shops. Quieter and better stocked in sizes than Via Etnea, with staff who will order in from Milan.
The student streets behind the university hold small record shops, second-hand bookshops, vintage clothing and printmakers, opening late and running into aperitivo hour around Piazza Bellini.
The lanes beside the Pescheria stock Bronte DOP pistachio cream, Nebrodi honey, Etna wine and pistachio pesto. Genuine Bronte jars run €12–18 for 190g; anything under €6 is a Turkish-nut blend.
A working-street run of fabric and haberdashery shops selling Sicilian embroidered linen, cotton tablecloths and lace off the roll — the same goods that cost triple in the tourist stretch of Via Etnea.
Sicily's largest mall, 8km west of the centre with 150+ stores, open daily 09:00–21:00 including Sundays. Useful for rain days and Italian chains absent from the centre; free parking and a shuttle from Piazza Borsellino.
The Baroque church street hides workshops selling hand-carved pupi siciliani marionettes, painted cart fragments and papier-mâché saints — the last serious traditional craft buys in the centre.