The "Walnut" tobacconist, Via Lombardia 13, Rome

Shoe box sized tabbachi on one of the horizontals off the top end of Via Vittorio Veneto. Nothing strange about that, you may think...
...but eccola! There she is in all her glory! Yes, a wallnut clad tabacchi-cum-knick-knackeria!

If that doesn't make you want to take up pipe or cigar smoking and recline in a Chesterfield with a copy of something by P.G Woodhouse, I don't know what will. Even better that, you can cover it all up with a bag of Fisherman's Friend gob-blowers after!
I have to admit that I wasn't entirely sure what this shop wanted to be, but (as you have probably guessed by my sympathetic take on all things independent shop in Italy) I rather liked it because of that.
Part tobacconist, sweet shop, jeweller, whatever else, it had a delighful dark interior enlivened by its woodworking throughout. It was immediately welcoming to the eye and calming on the soul to walk into. (Perhaps I should stop chewing so many Fisherman's Friends.)

What a pleasant place to own and work in, I thought. Warming, interesting, dark and soothing. Clearly, someone in the past put a lot of time and effort into lining its walls as they had and I am certainly pleased they did.

Fabris Pelletteria, Via Belsiana 12/13, Rome.

This is a rather rubbish photo of the exterior of "Fabris Pelletteria" (a pelletteria being a leather goods shop), tucked away on the side steets between the Via del Corso and Piazza di Spagna. As any bad workman does, I blame my tools. In this case, the sun, my schooling, the camera and the too highly polished windows.

Anyway, this is one of my favourite shops in Rome. A family run leather goods store, it's been in business (in a number of locations across the city) for around 100 years. It has the kind of tightly squished style of storage that I love and seem only to be found in pelletterias and second hand goods stores. The rummage is on!
Oh... tempting to get involved, is it not?
Behind the counter is Angela, the daughter of the current poprietor. She didn't want to be photographed, so I had to buy something to soften her stance up. Well, someone's gotta do it.
This was the sale box of wallets, card holders, purses etc., all stored in a rather nice briefcase. When was the last time you saw one of those in broad daylight? Time for a comeback, perhaps.
Wallets strewn about, bags hanging from random hooks, handbags hidden in nooks and corners....
Angela is still not happy about this!

And here's their website: www.fabrisleathergoods.com

Pisapia Calzature, Via Volturno 54, Roma 00185.

Here are the padrone of Pisapia shoe shop in the vicinity of Termini Station. From left to right, it's Antonella and then Michela. Ciao!
They're the latest generation of owners, and their descendents have been tying laces and offering shoe horns to customers since the 1920s. Hasn't changed much in here, either
Anyway, I rather liked this simple but rather elegant shop. It's got some, shall we say, "homely" touches, like, as you can see on the left of this shot, some sporting trophies on display (not that you can buy the boots worn, mind!).
I liked how it was divided in two, too- with the trying on area to the back and the till area to the front. Spacious and comfortable!
One thing that you notice about shops of a certain era (fast disappearing, though) is that all the shoes (or at least the majority) are kept within the main part of the shop. Not disappearing off for the staff here, no trendy radio mics to unknown workers backstage to fish the shoes out. This one has nice steps to the upper levels of the shop for those less reachable shoes. 38inch stilletos wouldn't do the trick.
Nice flooring and wood work at the entrance, where, as usual, the shoes are nicely displayed.
Er, this is the floor. Solid!

... and this is the back of the entrance display case. I like how it is nicely curved and beautifully cut.

Della Rocca, Via Piave 51-53, Rome, Italy.

This is the kind of place you would call a "gentlemen's outfitters"...
Walking into this shop is rather like walking back in time. Not least because much of the clothing is the kind of classic gent style which probably hasn't changed much in 50 years- tweed jackets, brogues, chords, braces and not a trainer in sight.
I said to the lady who you can see behind the counter above, "What a beautiful shop!"
She said: "We know."
This one has been there, in its same form, since the 1920s. The furnishings are basically still the same, and there is even a fine lift to take customers up to the upper floor.
As seems de rigeur at shops of this vintage, there are large, curved browsing windows as you enter the shop, so you can have a browse, under cover, before entering. Look at the craftsmanship here!
Here's a closer look... nice.
This is the cash desk. Now, that is how they all should be.

A view down to the lower floor from the balcony above.
Suits, kept behind class doors... elegant presentation.

Della Rocca stocks Alfred Sargent English shoes. They seem apt for such a shop.
www.alfred-sargent.co.uk
Old style presentation of woolens...
...and shirts (although most shirt shops do this, but perhaps not quite as beautifully).

A view across the top floor again.

Macelleria "Buccioni", ("Buccioni's Butcher's Shop") Via Girolamo Vitelli 4, Rome, Italy.

This is one of the local butchers in the area of Baldi Degli Ubaldi, just north west of the Vatican City in Rome.
And here is the butcher. I used this butcher's shop a lot since his own sausages are superb and the rest of his meat is excellent too.
He told me that, having retired (I forget from what) he got bored and decided to open this butcher's shop. Good on him. He's obviously a quick learner too- because he has managed to set up a fine butcher's shop in just a few years.
What I like (food aside) about his shop is that eye catching painting hanging behind.
It's a copy of Paolo Ucello's "The Battle of San Romano"*, part of a series of three paintings, and this one hangs in The National Gallery, London. It is one of the most scintillating paintings in the gallery in my opinion, on a huge scale with some stupendously striking colouring and drama going on.
www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/paolo-uccello-the-battle-of-san-romano

Anyway, for me it really adds to the joy of this particular shop- a touch of individuality and beauty in what can often be rather bland places and a far cry from the dreary supermarket meat counter at least.
Needless to say, for a man with a superb eye for bloody battles, meat... he is also an ex-boxer. Look at him to see why. Good frame, possibly a heavy-weight, I would say, in his day. Career card: 117 fights...

...102 wins. An excellent record and all the more reason to slavishly praise his sausages next time you go in there. (Note the picture second from the top has a Muhammad Ali in the right corner.)
*Ok, so it looks as if the painting's the wrong way round. You tell him, then.

M. Caccetta, "Calzature di lusso" ("Luxury Shoes"), Via Piave 9-21, Rome.

Some modern fittings aside, the interior of this shoe shop is not much changed since the 1940s. The descencents of the current owners founded the store and originally divided it in to two parts- one for adults' shoes and one for children's footwear.
As you can see, the exterior windows have the rather attractive and elegant window design over marble floors with the shoes nicely laid out behind.
This style of window shopping is quite common in Italian stores of a certain era- rather than picking the shoes up from a rack in the store, you spot them in the window, summon the shop assistant, and ask for them to be brought out to try on.

The delightful thing about this shop was a side booth to the left of the entrance. Can you see the faded, brown pictures on the walls above the seating?
Here's a closer look...
Any idea what this is for? Today, alas, nothing, bar space for more shoes. But the shop assistant told me that this was previously the children's shoes area- and they had these pictures added to the walls for the children's delight. That was in the 1940s- and the, albeit rather faded, paper still remains today.
This is a picture of the current owner (in pole-till position!) and his assistant on the day. Notice how the shoes are boxed up on the walls to the right, up to the door. Below is a closer look.
Here is the main piece of the interior, directly in front of the till and front doors. Beautiful.

I have walked passed this shop on many occasions and have never entered once, but it had always appealed before I eventually did so. Although rather faded, I think it is a wonderful shop, and the children's shoe area is a real treat- much so just by still existing.

Via Collina 52, Rome, 00187.

This is the rather uninspiring outside to a leather goods store in an area between Porta Pia and the Villa Borghese park just north of Termini station. However, inside it's another story.
The shop is split into two halves: on the left hand side- the first door you see on your left in the picture above- is the small leather goods shop, selling belts, bags, purses, wallets and other leather accessories. To the right is the part which sells products for leather, like creams, polishes, brushes and so on.
The leather goods shop isn't half so interesting as its sister on the right- a place of fine wooden furnishings, plentiful drawers and old style presentation.

There are a few shops like this left in Rome, but they are the kind of thing that is disappearing fast as counters give way to racks of goods and shops become more open planned affairs. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Nevertheless, certainly it feels as if something has been lost if you look at the other pictures above.