Supermarket openings in Italy

[Tinkerball]

Hi, we are driving to Italy this Summer and anticipate arriving late on Saturday evening so supermarkets will be shut. We usually stay in France and then face a dash to find somewhere on the Sunday morning as the majority close at 12 there. After a fair amount of googling I get the impression Italian supermarkets are shut on Sundays, is this true? we are driving so taking a fair amount of tinned food etc with us but obviously need the usual basics. We are staying in Certaldo in Tuscany.

Hi,

In the last 3/4 years a lot more have been open on Sunday (we live further south in Italy, near Rome), and some in the summer months stay open very late in the evening Monday to Saturday - until 10pm. So you may be OK. If you look on google maps for supermarcato in the town you are staying in you should be able to link to their website and see the opening times (sorry if you have already done this) - e.g, there is a new co-op there open on Sunday morning - www.coopfirenze.it/notizie/freschi-locali-e-dot-dot-dot-sempre-piu-convenienti2 - they are also open until 8.30 in the evening. Check near the time and they may have extended the hours for the summer.

Also, if you are travelling by car the service stations on the motorway sell enough that would probably get you through Sunday if you stop off on the way (especially if you go out to eat for lunch or dinner)

Thank you so much squillionaire, thats exactly the information I was looking for! I've tried looking up supermarkets to check opening times but my computer doesn't want to translate so as I don't speak Italian its been impossible to negotiate!