Ratti

from: Fisheye Venice

Ratti, just up the street from Lanterna Magica and I Tre Mercanti, opened for business as an ironmonger in 1882. Today, it's a major appliance, housewares, and hardware store where you can find everything from nails to washing machines and flat-screen TVs.

For the tourist, Ratti is a great place to buy hard-to-find Italian items such as replacement parts for Bialetti coffeepots. (Bring an old rubber ring from your Moka Express, and you'll find its counterpart at Ratti.)

Ratti also has a large selection of rubber boots for the acqua alta or flood season: During our most recent visit, we found boots in European sizes 35 to 46, at prices that started at €12 for green PVC wellies. (If green isn't your color, you can buy fake leopard rain boots for €20 or so.)

Ratti's address is Castello 5824; the store is at the corner of Salizzada San Lio, Calle al Ponte della Guerra, and Calle delle Bande. (If those names don't look like proper Italian, it's because I've used the Venetian dialect spellings that you'll see on the street signs.)

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