Welcome aboard the board...
There's a few of us off to Imola later this month (23rd Sept) for the Racing course run by Ducati. We're all staying at the Hotel Zio, and it's not too pricey.
http://www.hotelzioimola.com/ info on Ducati factory tours is here, WSB weekend may be busy though
http://www.ducati.com/company/trovaci/byplane.jhtml Can't help on the shopping I'm afraid.