Shopping on Capri

Souvenirs, crafts, limoncello, and, yes, Capri pants—the shopping scene of Capri

Limoncello

The most popular Capri purchase is limoncello, that wonderful, sugary lemon liqueur. Luckily, it can also be one of the cheapest buys.

You pay more for the funky shape of the bottle than for the amount of booze inside, and can get sample-size gift bottles for as little as €3. For your own consumption, you may want to shell out €15 for a full bottle.

To buy the brand tossed back by Gorky, Krupp, and Axel Munthe, head to the shop run by their supplier's grand kids, Limoncello di Capri, Via Roma 79 (tel. +39-081-837-5561, www.limoncello.com), in Anacapri at Via Capodimonte 27 (tel. +39-081-837-2927).

Limoncello's sugary lemon flavor stands out best when served close to freezing.

Perfume

Staying on the aromatic end of shopping, Capri is a wonderfully scented island, and their perfumes and colognes reflect it.

You can find some good bargains at the popular Carthusia, Via Camerelle 10 in Capri; Viale Axel Munthe 26 in Anacapri (tel. +39-081-837-0368; www.carthusia.it).

Their Aria di Capri concoction of orange, lemon, mimosa, and peach was developed in the 17th century by the monks at the nearby certosa.

You can also tour their tiny lab at Via G. Matteotti 2d.

Handmade sandals

Capri's other famous product is handmade strap sandals—but don't try to hike the island in them. The famous, bijoux-studded footwear pounded out by Angela at Canfora, Via Camerelle 3 in Capri (tel. +39-081-837-0487, www.canfora.com), will run you a whopping €100 to €280.

For the best bargains, head to Vincenzo Faiella's shop on Capri's Via Vittorio Emanuele 49 (no phone), where cloth and rope shoes and slippers start at €25.

My favorite cobbler is old Antonio Viva, who sits outside his Anacapri shop L'Arte del Sandolo Caprese at Via G. Orlandi 75 (tel. +39-081-837-3583, www.sandalocaprese.it) and proclaims gently through his mustache "We make these shoes the artisan's way. We make them with heart." Antonio has the widest selection of handmade slippers on Capri, and his work goes for a modest €50.

Capri pants

Those famous high-tide Capri Pants are, at least as I write this, suddenly back in fashion in London and New York, so prices on the island have soared. Plenty of the pricey boutiques carry them.

Clotheshounds on a budget who want to blend into Capri's lava landscape can stop by Fiore Domenico's little shop at Via Roma 43 (tel. +39-081-or 081-837-5494 or 081-837-0943 or 081-837-5621 ). All of her flowing, lightweight dresses, blouses, and jackets are expertly handmade in shades of pumice-gray and earthy browns, and the fabrics are woven by a local textilist.

Ceramics

Speaking of local artisans, visit Antionetta di Franco's ceramics shop, Via Roma 75 (tel. +39-081-837-6731), to peruse tasteful tiles hand-painted majolica-style with patterns or simple scenes. She has two outlets in Anacapri at Viale T. de Tommaso 2 and Via Monticelli 6.

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