I'm getting married in about a week, then flying off to Italy for a honeymoon. Of course we're doing the standard touristy stuff - the Colosseum in Rome, the tower of Pisa, the canals of Venice, etc etc. But is there anywhere neat a coin collector should try to swing by?
Do you collect Roman coins ? Do you collect Pre-1861 Italian States coins ? or modern Italian coins ? Stay away from the tourist rip-off souvenir shops. The coin collecting hobby is very strong in Italy and there are many legitimate coin shops that serve the Italian coin collecting community. Many of the larger cities will have these shops. Right now the Dollar is strong and that's a good thing for you in Italy where they use Euros. Around $1.12 for one Euro, not too long ago it was $1.65 for one Euro. Do you speak Italian ?
Try to pick up a Vatican Euro set. The proof sets are really nice. There is a shop outside the main entry to St. Peters Square that should have them.
Oh, and when searching, "coin shop" won't show many good results. You'll want to try "Numismatica". We had an awesome concierge at our hotel in Rome that wasn't sure what we were asking for, but researched for a bit and figured out the part that was getting lost in translation. We ended up in some small shops off the big tourist shopping districts. Kinda fun.
Congratulations, and have a great trip! But are you sure that you, and particularly your spouse, will want to "do" coins on your honeymoon? The museum of the mint (IPZS) is currently closed as far a I know. But the Vatican has a Numismatic and Philatelic Museum which may be interesting: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/.../il-nuovo-museo-filatelico-e-numismatico.html The Money Museum of the Banca d'Italia has a fine collection but apparently you cannot simply walk in (appointment required): http://www.bancaditalia.it/servizi-...dex.html?com.dotmarketing.htmlpage.language=1 A coin is moneta (plural: monete) in Italian. But yes, using the term numismatica will help. Christian
Make sure you visit the Leaning tower of Piza. Also, in that same town go to the beach and stroll up and down the beach...you will eventually get to the nudist part of it and say hello to the locals!!!!
Apart from Pisa (there is more than the tower ) you could also visit Florence. I like the city, but it's not a place that can be done in one day ...
Hi from Italy, and many wishes for your marriage The best museum for coins in Rome (maybe, in Italy), is the National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, near Termini station http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en/museums/national-roman-museum-palazzo-massimo-alle-terme You can find ancient coins (greek, romans) and medieval and modern coins from all ancient Italian States and Italian Kingdom, a small part of the big collection (around 110,000 pieces) of King Vittorio Emanuele III. This is the museum page dedicated to coins, sorry it's not available in english http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en/node/607 I confirm that the museum of the mint is closed, and it's quite impossible to visit the Bank of Italy museum: it need a well in advance booking (many weeks), and I think that it's reserved only for schools, scholars, and groups of collectors from official numismatic associations (I visited in 2010 as a member of a roman numismatic association, we were about 20 people). I have no informations about coin museums in Pisa, but in Venice you can find coins and medals at Museo Correr, in St. Mark's Square http://correr.visitmuve.it/en/home/ And from Venice, you can go to Padova (30/40 minutes by train) and visit the Museo Bottacin, with a small, but very nice, collection of coins http://padovacultura.padovanet.it/it/musei/museo-bottacin Regarding coin shops, what are you interested? Maurizio
It's not numismatic, but two not-to-be-missed things in Rome are the Pantheon and the Galleria Borghese. The latter is an art museum with the most amazing Bernini sculptures; also has paintings by Rubens, Titian, etc. Buy tickets in advance. A good hotel is Hotel Opera Roma, which is next to ... guess what. It's a nice hotel, reasonable prices, near central train station and subway. Favorite restaurant is Cuore di Napoli; good food, reasonable prices, near the central train station. Cal
Not so coin related but the tour of my life was Pompeii. Took a tour bus from Rome, 1 day tour. It was the trip of a lifetime if you enjoy this type of history.
Milan is the financial capital of Italy so I'm sure there are coin shops there. Also visit Lake Como and Cinqe Terra if you have the chance. Capri is nice too but stay out of Naples.
If you collect 1700 to present Italian coins and go to a coin shop while you are in Italy make sure to buy a current copy of a coin catalog they use in Italy, called "GIGANTE 2016 CATALOGO NAZIONALE delle MONETE ITALIANE DAL'700 ALL'EURO. It's written in Italian but very well illustrated. The cost is 20 euros and well worth it. It's a much better coin book/catalog than you will find here in the USA for Italian coins. I use mine all the time.
In Milan, every Sunday morning (if doesn't rain), from 8 to 12 a.m., there is a coins and stamps market, called "Mercatino del Cordusio" or "Mercatino di via Armorari". It's near the Duomo. There are a lot of dealers that have coins of Italy, and from all the world, including US: I purchased some good Peace and Morgan dollars there petronius
