I will be traveling to Italy in September and hope to buy dinnerware/dishes to send home. Any suggestions about good prices, quality, and places to look?

I would look very carefully at the shipping cost before deciding to do this. I have brought some pretty peasant type serving dishes home (in my luggage) since the price was about 1/4 that in Bloomies. But that was some years ago - and I don;t know if you'll get any bargains now.

Yes, but it really depends what style you may prefer. We have had good luck in these 3 villages where it is made, but very different styles:
Nove---in Veneto
Deruta--in Umbria
Vietri sul Mare---near Salerno in Campania

Where will you be?

BTW, whatever we saved at the factory was spent shipping it home--and that was before the current Euro conversion. Our best buy for dishes was a closeout sale at Pottery Barn.

"Italy" is large. So as Bob said, where exactly are you going?

I bought a big piece -- a tureen -- and the VAT refund paid for the shipping and insurance.

I bought some dinner plates at a ceramic shop in Ravello that I still love. About four months later, I received a kind note from the shop indicating that Gucci was picking up the pattern for their line!

It was worth the shipping...

I'd get what I could carry back in checked luggage. Did that in Limoges.

Ceramiche Rampini in Radda in Cianti and Florence has beautiful dinnerware. Also look at Ubaldo deGrazia in Deruta

Geribi in the alto centro and they also have a showroom "down below" in Deruta--fantastic patterns and workmanship. Shipping cost is always an issue--we bought a full set (eventually) over many trips which we mostly hand carried "back in the day". When the fires approached here in So. Calif., my wife packed the dinnerware first!