Usually when I give my report on the record stores of a city I've visited, I dwell a bit on the sites, give some pointers on places to visit, dishes to try, etc. Venice will be an exception. You're probably overly familiar with it from popular culture, yet nothing can prepare you for the actual Venice experience. Even though the streets are teeming with hordes of tourists and every other building serves touristic purposes, and even though the true Venetians have left the old town and the people working the shops are from China, Pakistan, or Egypt - the magic is still there. As far as I know, there are some record shops on the mainland but only one in Venice proper. This is called Living In The Past (Sestiere Dorsoduro, 3474). At first glance, it may look like any old thrift store, but it has a well curated collection of used vinyl - mostly original 60's-70's editions. There are a couple of boxes of rare/expensive LP's, the rest (rock, jazz, Italian, some new wave) cost €15-50. Also some CD's and books, mostly in Italian. The shop owner is quite helpful and looks himself like a vintage 70's rocker.
In fair Verona, where we lay our second scene, I only found one record shop, Dischi Volanti. It's on a nice pedestrian street (Via Fama 7) and it's quite big with a lot of variety (rock, alternative, prog, classical etc). About 1/3 of the shop is dedicated to vinyl (€30+) and the rest to CDs (€15+). This was my first visit to a record store together with my young nieces, and I'm happy to say they absolutely loved it. They were happy to discover the albums by their favorite groups which they only know from streaming services, and took photos of album covers they found impressive. Thankfully we weren't reprimanded for their enthusiasm, so their first visit to a record store remains a good experience. Other than this, I visited the local Feltrinelli bookstore - this is a chain you can find in almost every Italian city. They always have some mainstream CD's and vinyl for sale, though there's few discoveries to be made.
Our third stop in this trip was Milan. As one would expect from the second biggest city in Italy, Milan offers more choices for shopping. Of course, one can find big stores by Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton etc. at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II but if you're looking for records that's the wrong place. Well, not quite. There's a Feltrinelli, which I didn't visit but should carry the usual stuff. Also on the Piazza del Duomo, near the Cathedral, there's a huge Mondadori bookshop that also sells vinyl (new releases and classic album reissues, €25-40) and CD's (€10-15). Very close (at Passaggio Santa Margherita) you can find Discovery by Gigi, a rather singular kind of record shop which is actually a souvenir street kiosk that also sells random used LPs (overpriced at €25-30) and CDs (€5). Moving on to the real record stores, one would have to start with probably the most famous, Serendeepity (Corso di Porta Ticinese 100) This is quite a large shop, with an emphasis on dance music (electronic/disco/reggae/world) as well as some rock classics (LPs €30+, some offers on 50% discount). The shop also sells other stuff, including music books and fashion items. A few meters upstreet you can find a tiny shop called Green Tunnel. It only packs a few dozen records (electronic, disco etc) and dance culture-related T-shirts and trinkets. At the north of the city (Via Gustavo Fara 4) there's Massive Music Store. Not as massive as one would like, but with a decent enough collection of 2nd hand rock/metal/jazz/Italian LPs (€20-30) and new vinyl (€25-50). Also CDs (€10-20) and 7' singles. I also visited Rosetti Records (Via Cesare da Sesto 24). Not too big, but with a decent variety of LPs (used €5-15, new €25+), CDs, books and DVDs. Rock, Indie, Italian, etc.
Which brings us to a region you really must visit when in Milan: Naviglio Grande is a long canal whose both banks are lined with cute shops and aperitivo bars. After I checked out the record shops here, I returned with friends and we had dinner at a "bar with kitchen". Living in The Netherlands, one expects that to mean nachos or burgers. Instead, we were served large portions of ossobuco with risotto alla milanese and Cotoletta alla milanese - the latter is rather too similar to a Viennese schnitzel, but the Lombards insist they invented it first. Anyway, there are two record stores here, one on each side of the canal. Il Discomane (Alzaia Naviglio Grande 38) is the larger, and apparently the most historic one, as it's been catering to music lovers at the same address since 1978. Can't say I love the way the records are arranged, but it has a respectable collection: classic rock, folk, jazz, indie, punk etc. Used vinyl costs mostly €8-15, new €30+. There are also cassettes, books, DVD's, and 7' singles, as well as crates of rare/collectible vinyl, starting from €35+. CD's are rather cheap, a lot of them are on offer for €2,5-5, the rest go for €10-15. Cross the bridge to the other bank, and you'll find Dischivolanti (Ripa di Porta Ticinese 47). Almost the same name with the Verona store mentioned earlier, no apparent relation. Lots of good records here (rock/prog/metal/indie etc.), prices vary between €15-30(used LP's), €25+ (new LP's) and €7-8 (CDs). From there, it's a 15-minute walk to Psycho Records (Via Zamenhof 2). Classic Rock, psychedelia, jazz, punk etc. New LP's for €25+, used ones €10-30. Also CD's, mostly €5-10.
A shop I visited but didn't spend any time in was La Bottega Discantica (Via Nirone 5). You see, this shop deals exclusively in classical music. I like to listen to it sometimes, but it's a vast field I know very little about. Lastly, there's another record store I didn't catch open. For some unknown reason, it opened later, specifically on the day I visited. Backflip Records (Via Salasco 17) is run by a well-known Italian female DJ, and aims to provide a full overview of Black Music a.k.a. "the totality of music created through the black experience, regardless of the category". Supposedly she's very knowledgeable on the subject, and the shop carries some lesser-known gems in this kind of music. Judging from what I saw in this trip, the record shops in Milan can be nice enough to browse; one is bound to find some interesting items, but no real bargains - except possibly in Italo Disco which I'm not familiar with myself, but may be of interest to DJ's.
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