Ciao ragazzi. Back in May I had the good fortune of heading to Italy for a much-needed and long-planned vacation. Don’t worry though, this isn’t a post bragging about my trip. It’s actually a short recap of the 4 LEGO®️ Brand retail stores I got to visit. And while I’m at it, I’ll show you a couple of purchases. Let’s check out some LEGO®️ shopping in Italy. Andiamo! (…let’s go).
Certified Stores in Italy
Searching for shops on the official website, you will find a total of 29 LEGO®️ Certified stores. That’s a lot. And I’m jealous as there are 13 in Canada with none in Halifax. Not yet at least (crosses all fingers). If you’re curious, the most stores can be found in the United States with 108! Of the 29, I managed to visit 4: Milan (x2), Florence and Rome. Now unfortunately, none of them were particularly show-stopping. Each one was decently stocked but not particularly large. They did however have some fun artwork, which I want to share with the class.
VENICE
Before hitting the certified stores, I want to show a quick bit of art I came across in Venice. Walking the winding streets, I happened to spy this giant brick minifigure . . . made of marble! You can find these (for now) in the San Polo Art Gallery close to the Grand Canal.
These are the creation of Italian modern artist/sculptor Beppe Borella. You may have come across his work in the past as he has done a number of LEGO®️ pieces. Sadly the shop was closed, so I couldn’t get inside for a closer look. I did however manage to snap these from outside. If you’re interested in seeing more of his work, check out his website HERE.
MILAN
The next stop in my LEGO®️ shopping journey is Milan. It’s a big, beautiful cosmopolitan city. And famously the centre of Italian design and fashion. So it’s not too surprising that the city and area boasts four LEGO®️ certified stores. I visited the two in the immediate city limits, but never found time for the others in my itinerary.
LEGO® Store Via Dante
This shop is the newest of the bunch, having just opened on March 29th, 2024. It’s on the main shopping street of the city; a spot with all the big brand names. You’ll find the standard brick fun in a fairly compact space. Stock was excellent and the staff were friendly. Sadly no purchases for me. I was hoping for a very unique-to-Milan item like a keychain. Nope. What I did see was some really fun artwork.
Inside you will see a large map of Via Dante and it’s blocks, done in a flat mosaic style. It’s very simple but still looks lovely with bold, bright colours. The real highlights are two mosaic ‘paintings’ in the windows of the Sforza Castle, a historic location at the end of Via Dante. Check out the last pic and you’ll get info on the talented artist behind the work, Riccardo Zangelmi. Gorgeous work and very spot-on as you’ll see in the side-by-side. Click HERE to see more of his amazing work with the LEGO®️ brick.
LEGO® Store San Babila
Our second store is located in another shopping district (where isn’t…) and also within easy reach of the Duomo Cathedral. Not surprisingly, it’s in this store that we will find a big model of the famous church. It’s visible in the window and looks pretty great. Plenty of detail packed into a small scale. The only other artwork of note is the giant brick-built flower wall. It’s a lovely piece that highlights the botanical collection perfectly. I love how much colour and volume they use here.
FLORENCE
Next on our LEGO®️ Shopping journey of Italy is the absolutely gorgeous city of Florence. The birthplace of the Renaissance boasts just the one certified store. It was sadly the least interesting of the bunch. Not much to really see or explore aside from the pick-a-brick wall and build-a-minifig station. Artwork is also on the sparse side. All I could find was a large (and far too simple) build of the Florentine lily, the symbol of the city. It’s cute. It gives postcard vibes. But other than that…not much to see here folks.
ROME
The last stop on my Italian LEGO®️ shopping journey is Rome. Again we find just one store in the city proper. But this one is by far the best and most fun. It has some great artwork AND it’s finally here I buy something to commemorate my trip. It was my last shot at some LEGO®️ on this trip so I took advantage.
Swag
After a bit of deliberating, I purchased the Creator Vespa (40517). It was literally the only small, locally relevant set I could fit in my luggage. And honestly, it’s super cute. It’s a nice LEGO®️ shopping memento of my trip since you literally see them everywhere. The set is a lean 118 pieces and retails for 10€. Although it’s a fast build, it’s got some nice construction techniques and looks great on display.
My other purchase was a lot more random. I found a child’s size t-shirt with a Roman gladiator minifigure on the front. It’s such a great graphic. Perfect to remember amazing ancient Rome. But no adult sizes. No adult size clothing of any kind. I was going to pass on it until my husband came up with a great idea; cut out the image and make it into a patch for a sweater or jacket. I’ll eventually take a finished photo. Until then, use your imaginations 🙂
Artwork
Inside the store is easily one of the nicest brick mosaics I have ever seen. It’s a massive full wall recreation of the Trevi Fountain. You all know this famous site. It’s stunning in real life and gorgeous in brick form. Colours and depth are so good! The minifigure tourist is cute too, and a staple of many of the store art pieces. Two gladiator minifigure statues are the only other built pieces. Each is in it’s own window and posed in a very cool fighting stance. Why are these not made into keychains? Sigh.
One More Splurge…
Once I got home, I said to myself: “I need the Venice Architecture skyline set”. I’ve now been to Venice and it needs to go next to Chicago, Paris, NYC, etc. But a long retired set from this theme isn’t so easily found. Happily, I found a decent price for one on eBay. No box, but in great condition and with the instruction manual. I won’t say what I paid (yeah, way too much), but it was at least reasonable for something on the secondhand market.
It’s way too simple and the parts count is laughable, but I’m still happy to have it. Venice is one of the original three skylines released back in 2016. As such, the detail is very rudimentary. The landmarks are there and it does have a lovely charm. It was also the only ‘church’ ever done by LEGO®️ until the recent release of Notre Dame de Paris (21061). Inflation aside, it had to join my collection and I’m happy with it.
Ciao
So that’s my LEGO®️ shopping adventure in Italy. I can’t say the stores were all that spectacular. But for local shoppers and closer travelers, it’s got what you need. I really wish the stores had some exclusive merch to sell. Every certified store should! Frankly I was just happy to set foot into a store again. I can’t wait to find more shops on my return trip
There you go my friends. What do you think of the pics? Which LEGO®️ certified store is your favourite? Have you visited many during your travels? Which one is a must-visit? Comment below and in all the usual places. Thanks as always for reading and until next time, keep on brickin’. 🧱
– Frank
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