+++ Poll: Italian Souvenirs. +++
Nov 28th, 2005, 10:50 AM
#1
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+++ Poll: Italian Souvenirs. +++
Poll:
What was your favorite souvenir that you brought home from Italy?
Was it expensive; i.e. did you think it was reasonabl for what you got?
I am sooo looking forward to buying souvenirs while in Italy. I am trying to come up with a good budget and make sure I don’t spend too much. Amongst other touristy stuff, I would love to get some paintings done by a real Italian painter, perhaps a reasonable street vendor/painter.
What was your favorite souvenir that you brought home from Italy?
Was it expensive; i.e. did you think it was reasonabl for what you got?
I am sooo looking forward to buying souvenirs while in Italy. I am trying to come up with a good budget and make sure I don’t spend too much. Amongst other touristy stuff, I would love to get some paintings done by a real Italian painter, perhaps a reasonable street vendor/painter.
Nov 28th, 2005, 11:06 AM
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I bought some great pottery from Siena that I love. I bought smaller bowls that weren't very expensive and, more importantly, fit in my luggage. I also brought home several bottles of limoncello.
Tracy
Tracy
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:06 PM
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The Saints medals I bought at the Vatican for loved ones. Very moderate in price, and easy to pack. Several of my family members have commented, since my return five years ago, how much they treasure them.
My photography, though not a souvenir, per se, is my most precious memento. Take alot of pictures for yourself. You'll be surprised how many you want to frame when you come home. You can't take a bad picture in Italy.
Enjoy, Tiff
My photography, though not a souvenir, per se, is my most precious memento. Take alot of pictures for yourself. You'll be surprised how many you want to frame when you come home. You can't take a bad picture in Italy.
Enjoy, Tiff
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:22 PM
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My favorite things to bring home from Italy are:
wine, limoncello, pottery (the most expensive piece was $40), shoes, some sort of jewelry (not expensive), L'erbolario lotions, rosaries and religious medals from Vatican City and Assisi. I always pick up a print of a place I visited, mostly pen and ink and usually from a shop or a street artist and usually not framed. These are easy to pack and don't take up room. I frame them at home and I have a big wall of vacations to enjoy every day! One day, maybe a husband...
wine, limoncello, pottery (the most expensive piece was $40), shoes, some sort of jewelry (not expensive), L'erbolario lotions, rosaries and religious medals from Vatican City and Assisi. I always pick up a print of a place I visited, mostly pen and ink and usually from a shop or a street artist and usually not framed. These are easy to pack and don't take up room. I frame them at home and I have a big wall of vacations to enjoy every day! One day, maybe a husband...
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:26 PM
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Each trip to Italy I purchase Murano glass Jewelry. I am wearing a necklace today and really enjoy it all. I guess this would only interest you if you are a woman and enjoy jewelry.(?) The italians make wonderful accessories, leather goods, scarves, etc. The glass jewelry is not too expensive compared to Italian GOLD! My souvenir budget is not a big one. You should be able to purchase a wonderful silk scarf under $100.00 if it is not from a design house. Enjoy your trip.
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:30 PM
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I bought a few items when I was in Italy last month. All were inexpensive.
I bought a watercolor done by an artist in Florence(25 euros), a seragraph in Venice(40 euros), and a gorgeous silk/ cashmere scarf in Venice. Gosh, I wish I had bought more of those at only 15 euros!
I bought a watercolor done by an artist in Florence(25 euros), a seragraph in Venice(40 euros), and a gorgeous silk/ cashmere scarf in Venice. Gosh, I wish I had bought more of those at only 15 euros!
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:36 PM
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My favorites are a painting each from Venice, Florence & Rome (these can range from 20E to hundreds, I didn't buy the ones in the hundreds!)
Other things I really like:
Murano Glass from Venice
Leather gloves from Florence
Pecorino Cheese & Italian ceramics from Pienza
Limoncello (it was on sale at the airport when I left Rome)
Silver charms to add to my bracelet (a gondola in Venice, Florence's Duomo, the Mouth of Truth in Rome)
Have a great trip!
Other things I really like:
Murano Glass from Venice
Leather gloves from Florence
Pecorino Cheese & Italian ceramics from Pienza
Limoncello (it was on sale at the airport when I left Rome)
Silver charms to add to my bracelet (a gondola in Venice, Florence's Duomo, the Mouth of Truth in Rome)
Have a great trip!
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:41 PM
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Lots and lots of ceramics. Each trip (I've been three times in the last five years) I seem to buy even more than the trip before. But I love it. Only once did I have something shipped (it was really expensive to have things shipped but I really wanted these two pieces). Usually I manage to get everything into my carry-on. Dirty clothes go into the checked luggage (this last trip I made my husband throw away some clothes to make room for my pottery purchases).
Also: Venetian glass (especially beads), leather handbags, jewlery, prints. And as someone already mentioned - your own photography is the best souvenier.
Also: Venetian glass (especially beads), leather handbags, jewlery, prints. And as someone already mentioned - your own photography is the best souvenier.
Nov 28th, 2005, 12:51 PM
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It's hard not to find something you love in Italy! Last year I brought home a wonderful watercolor that I bought from a young woman selling her work in front of the Pitti Palace in Florence. It was very reasonable and I love it, all those wonderful Tuscan colors and an unusual size, probably about three inches high by fourteen inches long. Even the man who framed it, here in the US, loved it. The framing was the most expensive part, but worth every penny.
Nov 28th, 2005, 01:34 PM
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One day, I plan to go to Italy with empty luggage to load up on the following:
Limoncello, leather handbags/gloves/shoes, Venetian glass anythings, clothes, wool wraps (or at least they claim it's wool, but at 10 euros a pop, it's fun to buy!)
Of course, like the others have mentioned, photos are a given.
I would have said extra weight from all the gelato eaten, but I've actually lost weight in Italy, not gained.
Limoncello, leather handbags/gloves/shoes, Venetian glass anythings, clothes, wool wraps (or at least they claim it's wool, but at 10 euros a pop, it's fun to buy!)
Of course, like the others have mentioned, photos are a given.
I would have said extra weight from all the gelato eaten, but I've actually lost weight in Italy, not gained.
Nov 28th, 2005, 01:51 PM
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I really go about this thing so differently than most. I bought tableclothes in Venice and I just love them! Nothing like having my dining room looking wonderful and reminding me of a fabulous island filled with laces and handwork. (girl stuff!)
I also bought glass jewelry and I love it. (We bought a tray of Murano glass but we dropped it during inspection at the Toronto Airport and now it's a shattered memory!
I bought a spoon tray for my kitchen stove that has "Made in Italy" written on the bottom...it's clay.
Just little things that I see everyday and along with a small sketch of the Arc de Triomphe which we will frame and add to our collection of memories in our home.
I also bought glass jewelry and I love it. (We bought a tray of Murano glass but we dropped it during inspection at the Toronto Airport and now it's a shattered memory!
I bought a spoon tray for my kitchen stove that has "Made in Italy" written on the bottom...it's clay.
Just little things that I see everyday and along with a small sketch of the Arc de Triomphe which we will frame and add to our collection of memories in our home.
Nov 28th, 2005, 04:00 PM
#15
Some of my favorite souvenirs are: an antique wooden "ricordo (memory)" box in Sorrento that is exactly like one given to my mother by her parents in the 1920s; an antique cameo brooch found in Rome that matches an antique cameo ring my grandmother gave me when I turned 13 (oh so long ago); Pinocchio marionettes for my two great-nieces that I found in Bellagio... I find shopping in atypical places (antique stores, flea markets) more interesting than the usual tourist spots.
Nov 28th, 2005, 05:19 PM
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I love shopping at department and grocery stores in all countries where prices are geared to the everyday consumer and we tourists can enjoy back at home a functional souvenir from wherever. In Italy, say, a reasobly priced bottle of balsamic vinegar (look carefully for the good stuff though), arborio rice, saffron, olive oil, soaps, stove top coffee makers; or household linens like sheets or curtains, napkins, tablecloths, dishcloths, you get the idea. i bought house numbers in France and tie backs in England and antique earrings in Italy. (And food from everywhere. I love actually using (or eating)these things on a daily basis and remembering the trip.
Nov 28th, 2005, 06:51 PM
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On my first big trip to Italy, I had so many souvenirs that they covered my dining room table when I unpacked. Most of them were very, very inexpensive. I like contemporary home accessories, and Italy is such a great place to buy modern home furnishings.
But I also continue to buy (and buy and buy), but never spend much. Both of my everyday purses are from Florence. One is from the Straw Market and the other from an inexpensive shop.
I love relegious images, and buy them at churches, gift shops, flea markets and antique markets. We got a gorgeous tiny Danish (go figure) blue dish at the antiques fair in Arezzo.
This year, I am buying a Murano glass dish in Venice or Murano. I want a small millefiore bowl, 3 or 4 inches. I've wanted this forever, so I know it is time to buy it.
I love the scarves at the various street markets, especially in Florence. I always buy soap, and lots and lots of FOOD.
Italy is the greatest place to shop in the world. I'll bet you find more to buy than you can carry home!
But I also continue to buy (and buy and buy), but never spend much. Both of my everyday purses are from Florence. One is from the Straw Market and the other from an inexpensive shop.
I love relegious images, and buy them at churches, gift shops, flea markets and antique markets. We got a gorgeous tiny Danish (go figure) blue dish at the antiques fair in Arezzo.
This year, I am buying a Murano glass dish in Venice or Murano. I want a small millefiore bowl, 3 or 4 inches. I've wanted this forever, so I know it is time to buy it.
I love the scarves at the various street markets, especially in Florence. I always buy soap, and lots and lots of FOOD.
Italy is the greatest place to shop in the world. I'll bet you find more to buy than you can carry home!
Nov 28th, 2005, 07:39 PM
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Deruta ceramics and framed mosaic "painting" - technique is called "pietra dura", meaning hard stone, I believe.
The ceramics are fairly reasonable, depending on what you get. The mosaics are expensive - for example, we purchased two small pieces about 6" X 8" plus frames, for approx $300 to $400 each. Larger pieces went for thousands of dollars. The only place we found selling this on our last trip was right across from the Pitti Palace in Florence.
The ceramics are fairly reasonable, depending on what you get. The mosaics are expensive - for example, we purchased two small pieces about 6" X 8" plus frames, for approx $300 to $400 each. Larger pieces went for thousands of dollars. The only place we found selling this on our last trip was right across from the Pitti Palace in Florence.
Nov 29th, 2005, 04:58 AM
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Hi all!
Firenze: paper goods (from Il Papiro if you want authentic, from street vendors if you want inexpensive stuff that they say is made in Firenze (as if I can check this out, but hey, the price is right!!!))
If you are in the right time of year, Nuovo Olio -- this year's olive oil, available from the Mercato Centrale. Of course, Chianti -- inexpensive at most grocery stores.
Leather goods -- handbags, etc. available but watch where they are made. Try to go to Santa Croce, where there is a Florentine leatherwork school that sells items made on site but remember that authentic sometimes means expensive. For the experience, though, the San Lorenzo market has TONS of leather goods at reasonable prices.
Knock-offs of designer handbags -- although not a souvenier in the traditional sense, there is a certain amount of satisfaction in buying a Burberry style handbag for 15 dollars. REMEMBER that there is a new law here forbidding counterfeit sales. So, if you indulge, buy at the San Lorenzo or at the Old Straw Market at the legitimate stands instead of the street vendors. You won't run into trouble buying a knockoff from a licensed vendor, but you might if you buy from a guy who has his wares spread out on a sheet on the street corner (fines of up to 3300 Euros!!!)
For children's goods, visit the wood shop near Santa Croce where they sell Pinocchios, clocks, and other carved wooden goods and toys. Pinocchio is a huge deal here, and a small Pinocchio item is a great souvenir that not all people will have.
Venice: Murano glass. Although you can get this throughout Italy at most souvenir shops, your variety is best here. Lacework from the island of Burano (hand made, local crafters etc.)
Rome: Anything Roman or religious (if so inclined, as the Vatican is RIGHT THERE). Here, local artists sell their watercolor paintings everywheres, and this might be most appropriate.
I collect unusual charms for my charm bracelet, and find that this is a great way to memorialize my visit.
Hope this helps!
Firenze: paper goods (from Il Papiro if you want authentic, from street vendors if you want inexpensive stuff that they say is made in Firenze (as if I can check this out, but hey, the price is right!!!))
If you are in the right time of year, Nuovo Olio -- this year's olive oil, available from the Mercato Centrale. Of course, Chianti -- inexpensive at most grocery stores.
Leather goods -- handbags, etc. available but watch where they are made. Try to go to Santa Croce, where there is a Florentine leatherwork school that sells items made on site but remember that authentic sometimes means expensive. For the experience, though, the San Lorenzo market has TONS of leather goods at reasonable prices.
Knock-offs of designer handbags -- although not a souvenier in the traditional sense, there is a certain amount of satisfaction in buying a Burberry style handbag for 15 dollars. REMEMBER that there is a new law here forbidding counterfeit sales. So, if you indulge, buy at the San Lorenzo or at the Old Straw Market at the legitimate stands instead of the street vendors. You won't run into trouble buying a knockoff from a licensed vendor, but you might if you buy from a guy who has his wares spread out on a sheet on the street corner (fines of up to 3300 Euros!!!)
For children's goods, visit the wood shop near Santa Croce where they sell Pinocchios, clocks, and other carved wooden goods and toys. Pinocchio is a huge deal here, and a small Pinocchio item is a great souvenir that not all people will have.
Venice: Murano glass. Although you can get this throughout Italy at most souvenir shops, your variety is best here. Lacework from the island of Burano (hand made, local crafters etc.)
Rome: Anything Roman or religious (if so inclined, as the Vatican is RIGHT THERE). Here, local artists sell their watercolor paintings everywheres, and this might be most appropriate.
I collect unusual charms for my charm bracelet, and find that this is a great way to memorialize my visit.
Hope this helps!
