8.2K

Let’s talk about toys today! Toys for cooks! If you’re anything like me, then food is a major focus of any travel that you do. Obviously, dining out is important, but as a cook, so are cookbooks and kitchenware. Today, that’s what I’m going to help you find in my adopted home. What are my top 7 kitchenware stores in Bologna? What can you expect to find? I’m here to help.

Cookware is something that I seek out every time I visit a new place. Bringing a unique kitchen tool home can help me recreate and remember meals that I’ve had on vacation for years to come. It’s awesome, right? Ah, the magic of food… I have a list of kitchenware stores in Bologna that you can check out on your visit, and offer ideas on what kinds of tools to think about that are specific to the area.

The hyper-regionality of Italian cuisine also extends to cookware, generally speaking. For example, if you need a tool for a type of dessert or pasta prepared in Sardinia, it will be harder to find in Bologna and vice versa.

Pasta making tools

Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna area as a whole are famous for their fresh egg pasta. That means you definitely need to check out the pasta making tools. Such as:

• long rolling pin (100 cm./39-inches), for rolling out pasta by hand
• cover for rolling pin
• different kinds of pasta cutters/wheels
• passatelli maker (passatelli are a local pasta made with bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, nutmeg, and lemon zest)
• gnocchi board
• garganelli board (garganelli are a handmade fresh pasta, similar in shape to penne)
• long, rolling pin shaped, adjustable pasta cutter with smooth and/or zig-zag edges
• ravioli cutters, various shapes
• wooden pasta boards, to make pasta on by hand
• torchio for passatelli or bigoli (bigoli are a long, spaghetti-like pasta from the Veneto region)
• anolini stamp (anolini are a filled pasta, served predominantly in Parma and Piacenza)
• ravioli maker forms
• chitarra (a “guitar” cutter from Abruzzo for making maccheroni alla chitarra and tonnarelli)

More culinary toys!

If you are a die-hard collector of traditional cooking tools and baking pans, then you could also seek out:

• tigelliere/stovetop tigelle baker (tigelle/crescentine are little round, English muffin sized breads that you fill with prosciutto, cheese, etc., from the Modena/Bologna area)
• stovetop pizzelle/ferratelle iron
• cannoli molds
• Pandoro pan/mold
• Panettone pan
• Colomba cake pan
• terra cotta baking dishes/pots
• silicon molds
• marble mortar and pestle for making authentic Pesto Genovese
• Italian copper pots and pans

My top 5 kitchenware stores in Bologna

Phew! I think that’s enough to get anyone started. Let’s move on to my favorite stores, in no particular order:

A. Pezzoli Enologia

A lovely store near one of my favorite piazzas in the city – the Piazza di Santo Stefano. It has a lot to offer – baking and pastry supplies, pasta tools, utensils, drinking glasses wine gear and bottling equipment for those who make beer and wine at home. As a consequence, they have a lot of bottles of various sizes. This is where my husband, who makes beer, orders his supplies. The staff is incredibly nice and the prices are not bad, especially for the historic city center.

Via Santo Stefano, 7, 40125 Bologna
051 233823

Casa del Tegamino di Montanari

Although rather nondescript from the outside, don’t let that deceive you. This is a store where you will find all sorts of things at decent prices. It’s also the largest store of the bunch. Since the area isn’t as pretty and not geared towards tourists, this is the kind of store that a local would go to. I come here most frequently – to find anything from grappa glasses, terra cotta pots, stainless steel pots and pans, espresso spoons, pasta tools and household items in general. The prices are mixed but generally lower than anywhere else in the center of Bologna. A good example is that I found a chitarra for around €17 (they can go for about $60 in the US). That’s a better price than most other stores in the city. They keep continuous hours, Monday-Saturday. That’s pretty rare, so very convenient indeed!

Via Guglielmo Marconi, 20/E, 40122 Bologna BO
051 225901

Ferramenta Castaldini

Right on the Strada Maggiore, near the iconic Two Towers, you will find this store. It is actually a ferramenta, meaning a hardware store, that has glorious cookware. Here you will find all sorts of molds, cake pans of every size, gorgeous copper pots, beautiful, colored terra cotta pots from Puglia, knives, pasta tools, cookie cutters, and other baking equipment. Some items can be pretty pricey but they have so much to drool over that it’s definitely worth a visit. The staff is super nice too. It can get very crowded, so be prepared. In the morning you might have an easier time of it, with fewer people.

Strada Maggiore 7, 40125 Bologna BO
051 221526

Antica Aguzzeria del Cavallo

You can’t be in a more central location than this store! Situated on one of the old food shopping streets of the city, you will find many treasures here. They have pasta making tools that are very difficult to find, even in their region of origin. For instance, you can order a real torchio to make bigoli, a pasta shape from the Veneto. It’ll cost you though. The store is not exactly cheap, but wonderful. If you need a new knife or a rare utensil, this is where you’ll find it. Since it’s so close to the famous Bolognese Two Towers, you’ll be sure to come across this store. Lucky you. The staff is very helpful and friendly.

Via Drapperie, 12/b, 40124 Bologna BO
051 263411

Marzocchi

Last but not least, Marzocchi is another store in the heart of the city with a variety of items. Here, you can find cookware, pretty dishes, (even register for your wedding), pots and pans, coffee gear, baking equipment, knives, pasta making tools and some fun things like copper polenta pots with a mechanized stirrer! It’s not a bargain hunters dream but you will find many treasure worth looking at.

Via Farini, 24, 40124 Bologna BO
051 222575

*Please note that most of these stores are open in the morning, close after lunch and re-open in the late afternoon.

Update for 2023

Hello folks! When I originally wrote this article I only listed 5 stores. I now have 2 more to add:

Castaldini Pentole

This store seems to be connected to the other Castaldini store that I mentioned above. It truly has some gorgeous cookware. Some of it is downright fancy. There are beautiful pots and pans and in particular, some stunning copperware. Also, they carry some colorful pasta machines and quite an array of knives. You will definitely want to check this one out.

Via San Vitale 7 40125 Bologna BO
051 6569973

Casalinghi Articoli da Regalo di Tarozzi Cristina e Leda

If you visit the Casa del Tegamino that I discuss above, you will not be far from this small but useful store. It is a tiny spot that has a lot hidden inside. The staff is incredibly helpful and even if you don’t see something on the shelf, they often have what one is looking for if you simply ask. It is not a store set up for tourists so I would be rather surprised if they spoke English. That said, it’s fun to shop at a place where the locals go to find anything from cookware, pasta tools, terra cotta, to cute espresso cups.

Via Marconi 9B 40121 Bologna BO
051 232157

Other Resources

The stores above are small and unique to Bologna. There are others, but these should fulfill most of your needs. If you have more mobility and can drive outside of the city center while you’re here, you can go to malls (Centri Commerciali) and find superstores (Ipermercati for stores like Coop, Carrefour, and Conad), that will have good prices. (Yet no charm.) Also, there is a nationwide chain called Kasanova that has a lot for the kitchen and home.

Don’t despair if you aren’t able to come to Italy yourself. There is an outstanding kitchenware store in Philadelphia called Fantes and they have a huge selection of cookware, including a superb selection from Italy. I used to order from them when I lived in the USA and I found their customer service to be impeccable. Sometimes their prices are equal to what you find here in Italy.

Useful Links

In addition, Tagliapasta, a company located in the Bologna province ships worldwide. They have a lot of wonderful pasta tools. I own some of their products which are of very good quality. If you click on the affiliate link here, I will receive a small commission from your purchase.

If you are visiting Italy, and want to ensure that you eat delicious food on your trip, check out my extensive article on dining out in Italy. My article if full of useful tips that will keep you out of tourist traps and point you in the direction of local places and the traditional cuisine of whatever area you are in.

For those of you coming to Bologna that might be interested a culinary tour, Devour Tours is a lovely company. I frequently get asked about tours and recently enjoyed several tours with this company. I have been familiar with them for many years. They are passionate about what they do. Please click this link if you are interested in a culinary tour in Bologna. If you are visiting other parts of Italy, take a look at here. If you book a tour I will receive a small commission.

Happy shopping and feel free to ask questions. I’d love to hear from you.