With such a rich history in terms of design and fashion, Italy is one of the best countries in Europe to go vintage shopping. That is why, we've decided to create a series of blog posts about vintage markets in Italy: where to find them and what they have to offer.
In this week's article, we introduce you to the Sunday flea market in Varese, a small town located about an hour north of Milan, in Lombardy.
Vintage flea markets in Italy
This is the first blog post in a series where we'll discover various flea markets in Italy, from weekend flea markets in small villages and towns, to the most popular vintage markets in large cities.
Since our main focus is on vintage watches and jewelry, that's what we're mostly looking for when we discover different flea markets. But we'll try to include an overview of other things you can purchase as well. If you want to support our journey and the free content we're creating, we invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel (there will be vlogs about these markets as well), or to check out our vintage collection of watches for sale.
Varese flea market - Location, open hours & how to get there
Location: Varese old town
Open hours: every second Sunday of the month, 8:00 - 18:00 + specific days that are announced on their Facebook page
How to get there: Visiting Varese could make a lovely day trip from Milan. There is a direct train from Milano Porta Garibaldi and the journey takes about 45-60 minutes.
From the train station in Varese, it's a 5-minute walk to the old town.
What you can find at the flea market in Varese
Also known as Antico Mercato Bosino, you'll find this open-air flea market on two of the main streets in the old town of Varese: Via Marconi Guglielmo and Corso Giacomo Matteotti.
Among the many things you will find at the market, we can count: vintage decor pieces, little statues and trinkets, paintings, old coins, vintage toys, stamps, records, books, typewriters, vintage prints and newspapers, plates and silverware, vintage jewelry, purses and handbags, and even some clothes here and there.
Prices differ depending on the quality of the items. There is room to haggle, and it helps a lot if you know a bit of Italian. But don't be discouraged if you don't. People are very friendly and you'll surely find a way to communicate.
If you love vintage design, you can find many decor pieces for your home at this flea market. From wooden jewelry boxes, to table clocks, ornamental plates, pretty silverware, and porcelain trinkets.
Our main interest are vintage watches, but there were only a few at this vintage market. On the other hand, if vintage jewelry is your thing, they have quite a beautiful selection at the flea market in Varese.
You'll find multiple trays of earrings like the one above. These are in very good condition, and some of the larger ones could also make beautiful brooches. The prices vary a lot, depending on the story the seller has about each jewelry piece - how old it is, the materials used, and whether it's by a designer brand or not.
For reference, I particularly liked the earrings below and the asking price for these was €50 ($52). These are made of silver and have a jade stone, according to the seller.
There's also a generous selection of vintage necklaces, some bracelets here and there, and vintage brooches and pins.
When it comes to our main interest, vintage watches, there were barely any at this market. Compared to other flea markets we've been to, this one is definitely not focused on watches.
By far the most interesting piece we found is the watch below, which was quite spectacular in terms of design. It was sold by a lady that had a lot of beautiful jewelry pieces and some lovely bags:
As for the other watches, we found a few vintage Swatch watches in very poor condition, and a few from other brands. One of the pieces that caught my eye was this vintage Yema watch, which was only €10, but it was missing its case-back and we didn't have a guarantee that it worked:
We also found this vintage Slava watch from the Soviet Union for €40, which was a bit expensive for a quartz watch without its strap. And it wasn't a timepiece that interested us in particular. Otherwise, as mentioned before, there is always room to haggle on these purchases.
What we really loved and what many other vintage watch lovers would probably appreciate are some vintage ads by various watch brands, like the one below by Omega. Each of these were made posters and were sold for €10 a piece:
A couple of vintage ads like this could actually make nice decor pieces for our office, so we'll definitely get some next time.
If you love vintage ads, you have a large variety of prints to choose from at this market. And you can also get vintage Italian newspapers, which have beautiful illustrations.
Want to see more of this vintage market?
While we love taking photos of the things we love at these markets (mainly watches and jewelry), we know that many of you are passionate about other vintages as well.
In order to get a better feel of these markets, we invite you to check out our Instagram account, where we post reels from our thrifting adventures. There you'll find clips from the Varese flea market, and a few others we've been to, and if you actually plan on visiting any, you'll know the ones that have what you're looking for.
What is your favorite flea market?
Thus ends our little blog post on the Varese flea market.
Let us know in the comments if you've ever been to Varese or to other flea markets in Italy. What are your favorite flea markets? And which vintage markets are on your list to check out in the future? Drop us a line below.
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